We Noticed: IRONMAN France Cancelled Due to Historic Heat Wave and More

Additional reporting from Ryan Heisler

A day after IRONMAN was celebrating three more years of the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races continuing in the city (despite the cancellation of two of the three upcoming world championship events – see link below), the news has come that this weekend’s event is cancelled due to the extreme heat that’s engulfed much of Europe over the last week. Here’s the statement from the company:

IRONMAN can confirm that the Alpes Maritimes Prefecture has issued a notice of cancellation of the Ramify IRONMAN France Nice and the IRONMAN 70.3 Nice triathlons, scheduled to take place this Sunday June 28 in response to the rising temperatures.

“The weather conditions, combined with the extension of the orange heatwave alert in the department and the context of a prolonged heatwave episode that has affected the national territory for the past ten days, have led us to cancel both the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events in Nice scheduled for Sunday, 28 June. This decision has been taken both to safeguard the health and safety of all participants (athletes, organisers, and the security and emergency personnel mobilised for the event) and to avoid placing any additional strain on emergency and healthcare services, which are already under significant pressure across the region.”, indicates the Prefecture.

The safety and wellbeing of our athletes, volunteers, staff, and the wider community is always our top priority. We respect the decision of the authorities and have been working in close coordination with the City of Nice and relevant stakeholders throughout this process.

We understand the disappointment this news will bring to the thousands of athletes who have travelled to Nice to participate, as well as to their families and supporters. We share in that disappointment.

IRONMAN and the City of Nice are working collaboratively to determine appropriate solutions including a potential replacement date. Further details will be communicated as soon as possible.

We thank our athletes, partners, and the local community for their understanding.

To provide some context behind the decision, Slowtwitch senior editor Ryan Heisler is over in Europe right now.

“I’ve been living in this heat dome for almost a week, and it is hell,” Heisler messaged when he learned of the decision.

Heisler had some other notes to share on the heat issues Europe is facing right now:

France experienced its hottest day ever across the country in recorded history on Wednesday. Temperatures in some places reached well above 40 degrees Celsius. Many news outlets are reporting it as the worst heat dome in history, with no sign of abatement until Wednesday of next week. Temperatures are up to 18 degrees Celsius above normal.

France also instituted water use limits earlier in the week in an attempt to conserve resources, which are very much strapped. There have been a number of rescues in the region for heat exhaustion. It’s not only been hot, but the high humidity has created a lot of additional stress – there have been 55 deaths in France to date so far. It’s hot enough that in Germany, highways are buckling and forcing road closures.

In Paris, officials have closed the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and police asked for the Solidays music festival and for the Paris Pride event to be rescheduled or cancelled.

IRONMAN Frankfurt Cautions Competitors and Shortens Race Course

The IRONMAN European Championship set for Frankfurt on Sunday appears to be still going ahead, but organizers have warned athletes about the expected conditions on Sunday – with temperatures expected to get into the high 30s Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). In an Instagram post, organizers passed on the following message to participants:

Weather update for our Mainova IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championship athletes ☀️
You’ve received an email with important advice and guidance on how to prepare for the expected weather conditions. Please make sure to check your inbox for all the details.
We would like to emphasize again to stay on top of your hydration and remember: electrolytes and salt intake will be key to managing the conditions on race day.

Shortly after that notice was sent out, IRONMAN announced that, due to the hot conditions, the bike would be shortened to 125 km and 21.1 km for the run.

Due to the high temperatures forecasted for this Sunday’s Mainova IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championship, IRONMAN, in consultation with City of Frankfurt am Main, medical teams, and local authorities have made the decision to implement the following adjustments to the bike and run courses. 

Bike Course: The bike course has been shortened to 125 kilometres. Athletes will still complete two loops, with the northern loop being removed. 

Run Course: The run course has been shortened from four laps to two laps, for a total of 21.1 kilometres.

The swim course remains unchanged. Based on current water temperatures, athletes should plan for a non-wetsuit swim, with the official confirmation to be communicated on race morning.

These adjustments have been made to help limit prolonged heat exposure and support athlete well-being.

All registered athletes have been contacted directly with full details.

Findlay Takes Second at Canadian TT Champs

In addition to being one of the world’s premier triathletes, Paula Findlay followed her fourth IRONMAN 70.3 North American Championship in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania on June 14 with a runner-up finish at the Canadian Time Trial Championships yesterday.

Findlay won the Canadian TT champs three years in a row – from 2022 to 2024. This year she took second to Liv-AlUla-Jayco’s Nadia Gontova. Findlay stopped the clock in 39:16, 1:07 behind Gontova.

Findlay is gearing up for her first full-distance race in Lake Placid next month.

Løvseth and Palmer Highlight 70.3 Swansea Field

Reighing IRONMAN world champion and current IRONMAN Pro Series leader Solveig Løvseth will be the standout women’s favourite at IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea on July 12, with two-time men’s champion Harry Palmer set to go after the hat-trick at the event.

This is the second year that the race features as part of the IRONMAN Pro Series and, as has become the norm at Series races, a large pro field will be on hand in search of a share of the US$50,000 prize purse and two qualifying slots for the 2027 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Løvseth’s most likely competition includes France’s Marjoleine Pierré, who won IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence earlier this year before finishing fourth at IRONMAN Hamburg, which was won by Løvseth. 2024 Swansea champion Nikki Bartlett is back, along with countrywomen Lizzie Rayner, Rebecca Anderbury, Kate Curran and India Lee. Others to watch include Germany’s Daniela Kleiser and Lena Meißner.

Palmer will face last year’s third-place finisher Kieran Lindars, along with a strong contingent from France including Pierre Le Corre (who took second at IRONMAN New Zealand earlier this year), Simon Vlain, who was third at 70.3 Elsinore last weekend, and Léon Chevalier, who was second in Swansea last year.

Pro Women

Pro Men

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