2.2 kilometers of swimming, 118 kilometers of biking and 20 kilometers of running: it sounds like a “normal” day of triathlon, but with the many altitude meters on the bike and of course the climb up the world-famous Alpe d’huez, the Triathlon l’Alpe d’Huez is anything but that. Frenchman Leon Chevalier won the race by a wide margin.
After the swim, Chevalier was still facing a considerable gap and several athletes were more than two minutes ahead of him. Chevalier himself swam for just under half an hour before getting on his bike. That’s when the race really started for him, as he stepped on the gas and one by one overtook his opponents. With a bike time of 3:52:49, he was the only athlete who was allowed to get off his bike again in less than four hours; he grabbed a fifteen minutes lead.
During the run, Chevalier visibly enjoyed the still difficult course and his lead was never in danger anymore. When he crossed the finish line after 5:41:13, he had to wait a long time for his compatriot Simon Viain to finish second in a time of 5:59:11. Spaniard Albert Moreno Molins finished third in 6:01:37.
