The pinnacle of the women’s professional long-course season takes place on Sunday (September 22) as the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship in Nice sees the sport’s superstars go head-to-head.
As with last year, the women and men race separately, with Nice hosting the women’s race for the first time, just over a month before the men head to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.
As you’d hope, all the big hitters line up, including the first three from last year – Lucy Charles-Barclay, Anne Haug and Laura Philipp.
They are joined by the likes of 2022 champion Chelsea Sodaro as well as Kat Matthews and India Lee, both of whom are in the top 10 in the world and part of a strong British contingent.
And they’ll not only take on each other but also an incredibly demanding and exciting course on the French Riviera.
We have all bases covered with everything you need to know about the showdown on the Cote d’Azur – including start time, how to watch the race live, a rundown on the stellar field, details of the course and much more.
Date, start time and how to watch live
The women’s professional race in Nice will start at 07:15 local time on Sunday September 22 from the Plage des Ponchettes, which corresponds to 06:15 UK time. That is 01:15 on Sunday on the East Coast of the United States or 22:15 PST on Saturday September 21.
You can watch the race live right here without leaving TRI247 – just click on the embed below…
Live race day coverage will also be broadcast for free across multiple platforms for global viewers including proseries.ironman.com, DAZN, and YouTube, as well as Outside TV in the U.S. and Canada, L’Équipe in France, and ZDF Online for German viewers.
And as ever, the IRONMAN Tracker app on your phone / mobile device, alongside the broadcast coverage, is your essential companion to keep up to date with all of the on-course action.
Which pro women are racing at IMWC Nice?
Wearing bib number one is defending champion Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) who snapped a run of four successive second places in Kona last year with a dominant display as she became the first woman to win the race wire-to-wire.
It will be a major surprise if she doesn’t again lead out the swim but it was only mid-season when she decided to take part in this event, having initially said her focus would be on the middle-distance T100 Series, so will she also be able to boss the bike and run?
Her ‘warm up’ for this was an all-the-way victory over course and distance at IRONMAN Nice, but she was a DNF last time out at T100 London and is still managing the Achilles issue from her Kona triumph 11 months ago.
Can LCB win again in Nice? [Photo credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images]
German duo Anne Haug and Laura Philipp joined her on the podium in Hawaii and reoppose.
Haug may be 41 years young but this season saw her rewrite the full-distance record books with a fastest-ever time of 8:02:38 when she won Challenge Roth so she is arguably vying with LCB for favouritism – here’s how we see that battle shaping up.
Haug already has one IMWC title to her name, earned in 2019, and last year set a new women’s run course best on her way to second place.
Philipp has been superbly consistent again – she has never finished lower than fourth in her three previous IMWC attempts – and hasn’t been out of the top four in six races this season. But she has tended to find one or two too good for her, including Haug at Roth.
Kat Matthews has twice finished ahead of Philipp too and has won both her completed IRONMAN races in 2024 – Texas and Vitoria-Gasteiz. She has unfinished business with this race too – she was runner-up when the 2021 version was held in St George in 2022 but was a DNF last year in Kona.
LCB and Matthews are among no fewer than nine British women, including India Lee – who won T100 Miami and defended her title at Challenge’s ‘The Championship’.
Those victories have propelled her into #7 in the rankings and this race has always been her big target even though it is her IMWC debut.
India Lee makes her IMWC debut in Nice [Photo Credit – Challenge Family]
Other challengers include 2022 IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro (USA) – who got back to winning ways earlier this season at both 70.3 Tasmania and IRONMAN New Zealand – and IRONMAN European Champion Jackie Hering (USA).
And there will be three French athletes hoping to shine on home roads just as Sam Laidlow did in the men’s race last year – Marjolaine Pierré, Julie Iemmolo, and Jeanne Collonge.
The full start list and bib numbers are here.
The IMWC Course in Nice
The swim takes place in the shallows of the Mediterranean and starts from the water off the pebble beach of the Plage des Ponchettes.
The course is a total of 3,850m, almost in a ‘W’ shape, and runs perpendicular to the famed Promenade des Anglais, with transition situated just off the beach.
The bike course is one loop of 180.2km and one of the most spectacular around with a series of climbs and technical descents to negotiate, with a total elevation gain of 2,427m.
In contrast the run course is a flat, four-lap affair along the Promenade des Anglais.
So all in all very, very different to Kona but the big question is which is tougher? TRI247’s Jenny Lucas-Hill gives her verdict here .
What is the IRONMAN Pro Series?
For the first time ever, the IRONMAN World Championship will have a key bearing on the season-long IRONMAN Pro Series.
Comprising 20 select IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional races at 18 events globally, the best five scores count in the battle for the greatest share of the $1.7 million bonus prize purse and the IMWC race in Nice offers a maximum of 6,000 points to the winner, 1,000 more points than the other full-distance IRONMAN triathlons in the series.
With only 4,516 points separating current Pro Series leader Jackie Hering from 10th place in the standings, Fenella Langridge, this points premium adds another layer of intrigue on Sunday.
And in terms of on-the-day remuneration…
Prize Money – What’s on offer?
For the women’s race in Nice, the total prize purse is $375,000, with the race winner earning $125,000 and the prize pot paying down to 15th position. It’s allocated as follows:
1st – $125,000
2nd – $65,000
3rd – $45,000
4th – $25,000
5th – $20,000
6th – $18,000
7th – $15,000
8th – $13,000
9th – $12,000
10th – $11,000
11th – $8,000
12th – $6,000
13th – $5,000
14th – $4,000
15th – $3,000
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