James Cunnama of South Africa avenged his second place finish last year and Jeanne Collonge of France rose from 3rd place last year to the top of the podium at the 11th EDF Alpe d’Huez Triathlon.

Men

Normally, a middle distance triathlon swim is not critical to the outcome. But at the high altitude of Alpe d’Huez, with many superior cyclists and indifferent swimmers lured to the fray by the mythic Tour de France climb, an Ironman veteran with a good all-around game can make time. And so James Cunnama’s 4th-best 29:32 split for the 2.2 kilometer swim in Lac Du Verney gave him a 1:51 to 6:43 lead on his four top rivals – Belgians Timothy Van Houtem (33:44) and Sven Van Luyck Man (36:15) and Spaniards Erik Merino Alaminos (31:23) and Aimar Agirre Sarobe (33:41).

After the 115km bike leg, including the famed 8.1 percent, 13.2km climb which rises 1,071 meters, Van Luyck Man unleashed a race-best 3:58:35 ride which brought him to T2 first, with a 3 seconds lead on countryman Van Houtem. Cunnama’s 3rd-best 4:06:06 split left him 3rd, 45 seconds behind the leaders and 4:27 ahead of Sarobe.

Cunnama’s 1:19:33 run was listed as only 3rd-best in the results, but was better than anyone listed in the first 200 finishers. As it worked out, that was 2 minutes faster than Van Houtem, 5:51 better than Sarobe and 7:08 better than Van Luyck Man.

Cunnama finished in 5:58:02 with a 2:05 margin of victory over Van Houtem, 6:58 over 3rd-place Van Luyck Man and 16:16 over Sarobe, who placed 4th.

“I come here every year, and every time I have been running in circle trying to find this victory,” said Cunnama. “The experience of the race has really helped me manage my pace. It is an iconic triathlon and I like its authenticity: You always find your limits here, each discipline is very demanding. It is one of those races that you need to do once in your life.”

Van Houtem was satisfied with his runner-up finish. “This season I got hurt on the IM 70.3 Aix en Provence and I could only start properly training at the beginning of July. It is a massive surprise for me to finish 2nd today! Ahead in the Alpe d’Huez, I found my pace. During the run, I knew James was stronger. I am very happy with the outcome.”

Van Luyck Man was abashed about his slow swim, which left him a bit too desperate on the bike leg. “My swim was really horrible,” he said. “I need to do something about it! But I was able to make a comeback in the leading group. In the Alpe d’Huez, I made a massive effort. I paid for it while running. I think I will need at least 48 hours to recover!”

Women

Nina Derron of Switzerland led the women through the swim in 33:36, but the race soon turned into a 2-woman duel between Jeanne Collonge of France (34:15 swim) and Lucy Gossage of Great Britain (33:55 swim).

After a women’s-best 4:21:47 bike split, Collonge led Gossage (4:28:07 bike split) at T2 by 6 minutes and Parys Edwards of Great Britain by 19 minutes.

Gossage’s women’s 2nd-best 1:32:39 run took back 1:31 of Collonge’s lead. So Collonge, who trailed Emma Pooley and Mary Beth Ellis last year, finished atop the podium in 6:33:32 with a 3:59 margin of victory over Gossage and 19:39 over 3rd-place Edwards.

Lisa Roberts of the US closed with a women's-best 1:30:21 run to take 4th, 5:29 behind Edwards.

Collonge took great satisfaction in her win: “This victory is an achievement for me. It is my 3rd participation, and I was committed to win. Knowing that Lucy was here, I had to be strong. I didn’t really have a strategy besides biking as hard as possible in the climb. At the top of the Alpe du Grand-Serre, when I overtook Lucy, the only thing I thought about was creating the biggest gap.”

Gossage paid tribute to the physical toll exacted by the race. “It is incredible! It was so hard today. I knew I did not fully recover from the IM UK 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to run. I felt the pain, I suffered during the run but I am very happy and grateful.”

Alpe d’Huez Triathlon
Lac du Verney, France
July 28, 2016
S 2.2k / B 115k / R 22k

Results

Men

1. James Cunnama (RSA) 5:58:02
2. Timothy Van Houtem (BEL) 6:00:07
3. Sven Van Luyck Man (BEL) 6:05:00
4. Erik Merino Alaminos (ESP) 6:14:18
5. Aimar Agirre Sarobe (ESP) 6:15:16

Women

1. Jeanne Collonge (FRA) 6:33:32
2. Lucy Gossage (GBR) 6:37:31
3. Parys Edwards (GBR) 6:53:11
4. Lisa Roberts (USA) 6:58:40
5. Nina Derron (SUI) 7:10:18