Race Hub · First-timer's guide
IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy
Sunday 23 August 2026. A sunrise swim in the calm Lac d'Allier, a 92km loop through the Livradois-Forez with one long, shaded climb to La Guillermie, and a flat two-lap run around the lake and Vichy's parks. Fair warning: recent race days have hit 31 and 36°C, and the water is usually too warm for wetsuits.
The Bike Course
One big climb decides your day.
The shape of this ride is simple, and it decides your race. Around 30km of gentle river-valley speed through villages like Châteldon, then the long, shaded climb toward La Guillermie, gaining roughly 400m between km30 and the 730m high point at km52, then descents and false flats before a fast, smooth final 25km back to Vichy. That is 1,136m of climbing across 91.6km on the official GPX. We pace you against the real elevation, so you climb at a power that still lets you run.
Pacing Calculator
How do your numbers stack up right now?
Built for first-timers. You don't need to know your FTP. A couple of honest inputs and we'll model your day against the real Vichy course.
Your Critical Swim Speed. We add for open water & wetsuit.
Don't know your CSS? Click HereUsed with your weight for a power-to-weight read. Not stored anywhere.
Average km/h on a recent long ride, of similar race distance and terrain, at race pace effort.
Your standalone half time, h:mm:ss.
Vichy in late August has raced anywhere from 9 to 36°C, and it has form for heat. If the forecast is up, take Hot seriously.
Power-to-weight body composition
Vichy has one long, genuine climb, and on it your speed is governed by power-to-weight: the watts you can hold for every kilo you carry up the road. Same power, less weight, and you go up faster, which is why body composition matters more here than on a flat course.
These are just mathematical outcomes from your height and weight, not a judgement on your body, and the maths can't tell how much of your weight is muscle. Any change should come from better fuelling and training, never restriction or dropping weight for its own sake, under-eating to chase "race weight" costs you more fitness than it buys. Whether it applies to you at all, and what a healthy target looks like, is exactly what our coaching team, with Adam on nutrition, work out with you 1:1.
Don't go it alone.
These headline numbers are a great start, but race day is bigger than a set of splits. What gets you to the line ready, and across it in the best possible shape, is a coaching team in your corner: mapping and running the whole journey with you across training, strength and conditioning, nutrition and race-day strategy, built around your life and adjusted as you go. That is exactly what Team TC does.
Apply for 1:1 coaching with TomBefore race day