Gérardmer Triathlon on September 4 and 5, 2021: the event not to be missed!

The 33rd edition of the Gérardmer triathlon will take place as planned on September 4 and 5. Renowned for its unique atmosphere, the Vosges event will once again welcome, among the 4,600 triathletes present at its various events, a high-quality field with several headliners accustomed to shining in the world’s biggest races. The promise of great sport and intense emotions.

Source: Press Release

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The date has long been circled by triathlon enthusiasts. Deprived of their event in 2020 due to the health crisis, triathletes will rediscover the unique fervor of the Gérardmer Triathlon on September 4 and 5. Two days of competition with 4,600 triathletes (25 nationalities) entered in the 6 races on the program and more than 20,000 spectators on the roadside, gathered at the most arduous sections such as the climbs of La Rayée (2 km at an average of 8.8%) and Le Poli (2 km at an average of 6%), or positioned all around the lake to encourage the champions, of course, but also (and above all) all participants, whatever their level or approach to the discipline. A unique atmosphere that has made the Gérardmer Triathlon a major event of the season.

On Saturday, September 4, at 8:45 am, the Triathlon XL Je vois la Vie en Vosges, the longest format of the weekend with its 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, and 21 km run, will offer the first highlight of the event. Once again, several leading international champions have gathered in the Vosges. Winner in Gérardmer in 2019, the young Australian (26 years old) Max Neumann is one of the new global stars of long-distance events. Winner of the Ironman Cairns (Australia) in 2020 and again this year with a sub-8-hour time (7h57’01’’), he can count on his power on the bike to make the difference. A true clash of generations with Reinaldo Colucci, 35, one of the great figures of long-distance triathlon for many years. His two victories at the Gérardmer XL Triathlon in 2005 and 2006, when he was only 20, revealed him to the general public. Winner of multiple events since, the Brazilian is back in the Vosges. Among the foreign competitors, also watch out for the Englishman James Teagle and the German Malte Plappert.

France can count on Clément Mignon, French Long Distance Champion 2021, winner of the Ironman 70.3 Andorra and the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon 2021. For his first appearance in Gérardmer, the 28-year-old Frenchman, a swimmer by training, intends to make his mark. Second on August 15 in the very difficult EmbrunMan, Etienne Diemunsh, a two-time winner of the Gérardmer Olympic Distance (2014 and 2018), will also have his say.

The women’s race should be animated by the Belgian Alexandra Tondeur. A victim of a fall during the Belgian Long Distance Championships on August 22 which forced her to abandon, the 2019 Long Distance World Champion, a regular at the Gérardmer Triathlon (victory in the Olympic distance in 2008), will be keen to add her name to the XL format’s roll of honor for the first time. The Canadian Sarah Bonner will try to compete.

Spectacle guaranteed on the SuperG

In addition to the traditional events, the 2021 program has been enriched with a particularly explosive event. On Saturday, in the late afternoon (5:30 pm women’s race, 6:45 pm men’s race), “elite” triathletes will compete in the first edition of the SuperG presented by Herbalife and Petit Meunier. In a very spectacular super sprint format, they will complete three times a course of 0.3 km swim, 4 km bike (on a 1 km loop) and 1.4 km run (0.7 km loop). Among the favorites, Boris Pierre (4th in the 2019 Junior World Championships) and the Alsatian Paul Georgenthum (5th in the 2019 Junior World Championships), always loyal to Gérardmer where he has won Mini-TriKids and TriKids events in the past, should animate the race. In the women’s race, the Australian Emma Jackson, one of the best triathletes in the world with a victory in the World Series (Edmonton 2019), will start as the favorite. But the Messine Jeanne Lehair (2015 Mixed Relay World Champion), 15th in her first WTCS World Series on August 14 in Montreal in a format similar to that of this SuperG presented by Herbalife and Petit Meunier, could well upset the predictions.

Finally, to conclude the weekend, the Aptonia Olympic Distance event, on Sunday at 1:30 pm, will allow some triathletes already present the day before at the SuperG presented by Herbalife and Petit Meunier, to extend their stay in the Vosges Massif. Boris Pierre, Emma Jackson, and Jeanne Lehair will thus dive back into the lake’s waters. In the men’s race, many French athletes accustomed to national events will be present, such as Brice Daubord, Antoine Müller, Jérémy Quindos, Aurélien Jem, Cédric Osterholt, and Amaury Dietrich. A strong field also in the women’s race with Alexia Bailly, the British Lucy and Erica Byram, Justine Guerard, the Réunionnais licensed in Liévin Marjolaine Pierré (French long-distance champion in the 20-24 age category), the Dutch Quinty Schoens, present at the recent U23 World Championships in Edmonton), Lucie Jolivet, the Vosges native Ségolène Valance (4th in 2019) etc.

The Gérardmer Triathlon organization has implemented all necessary measures to allow participants and spectators of the event to share a festive moment in optimal safety conditions. All health measures (health pass, mask-wearing, tests, etc.) can be found on the event’s website.