Marten Van Riel announced himself on the sport’s biggest stage with a determined fourth-place finish at his first Ironman World Championship in Nice.
Just months after claiming victory at Ironman 70.3 on the same course, the Belgian was back chasing the full-distance crown. He emerged from the 3.8km swim in the Baie des Anges just five seconds off the front, then pushed the pace across the gruelling 180km bike leg with its 2,400 metres of climbing to enter T2 in the lead.
With less than a minute splitting the top six, the marathon along the Promenade des Anglais became the decider. Van Riel matched strides with Sam Laidlow and Norway’s Casper Stornes, Gustav Iden, and Kristian Blummenfelt through the opening 10km before slipping to fifth. Refusing to give in, he surged back in the closing stages to reclaim fourth, crossing the line in 8:02:18 – finishing fourth in a world-class field on debut.
Bahrain Victorious 13 teammate Kacper Stepniak also impressed, taking 15th with the ninth-fastest marathon split in just his second World Championship start.
Attention now shifts to Valencia for the next stop of the T100 Triathlon World Tour, where India Lee will look to build on her recent bronze on the French Riviera. Meanwhile, the Supertri Series resumes in Jersey, with Crown Racing aiming to regain the series lead before the Grand Finale in Toulouse on October 5.
