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Race IntelligenceLes Sables d'Olonne, France

IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d'Olonne

Know your day before you race it.

Enter four numbers you already train with. You get a likely finish range, target paces and watts, and how I would race this course.

Race day
1 July 2027
Swim
1.9 km
Bike
90 km
Run
21.1 km

Published route evidence. Final 2027 route pending. Checked 13 Sept 2026.

01 Race Card

Build my Race Card

Your first range uses conservative assumptions. Add optional evidence to make it more specific. It is calculated in your browser and saved only on this device.

Your numbers
Distance unit
Weight unit
You and this race
Sharpen your range with more detailOptional. Recent swim, bike and run results, equipment and transitions.

Add only the evidence you have. Every control changes a discipline range, its uncertainty, or an execution-risk explanation.

Swim evidence

Replaces the broad pool-to-open-water assumption.

Bike and equipment

These replace broad mass, aerodynamics, tyre, and power-to-speed assumptions.

Run evidence

A recent effort and honest durability/acclimation answers refine the post-bike run.

Race execution

Transition proficiency changes the T1/T2 range and how wet conditions are treated.

02 The course

What Les Sables d'Olonne actually gives you

You start at Grande Plage, swim into the Vendée Globe Channel, ride a rolling coastal route through towns, forest and marshland, then run two loops from the harbour to Puits d'Enfer. Keep the bike even so the seafront run remains available.

Show distances in

Swim

1.9 km

Sea and Channel

Setting
Grande Plage and Vendée Globe Channel

The sea-to-channel swim needs a controlled opening.

Source: Current published route

Bike

90 km

Rolling Coastal Roads

Setting
Les Olonnes coastal towns, forest and marshland

Coastal exposure and rolling roads make even effort and fuelling the bike priorities.

Source: Current published route

Run

21.1 km

Seafront and Park Paths

Layout
2 loops
Setting
Harbour, Grande Plage, Lac de Tanchet and Puits d'Enfer

Two loops include seafront, sand and park landmarks.

Source: Current published route
Where these course facts come from

These facts come from the organiser’s latest published material: swim, Current published route; bike, Current published route; run, Current published route. They describe the character of the course. They do not confirm the final 2027 route.

03 Race plan

How I’d want you to race it

One job for each part of this course. The distance markers tell you when the job changes. The course tells you why.

Swim

Settle in the channel

  1. 0–300 m

    The start

    Find clean rhythm

    Use the opening to settle before committing to pace.

    • Seed honestly
    • Settle into rhythm

Bike

Ride the coast by effort

  1. 0 km–45 km

    First half

    Do not chase coastal speed

    The rolling route rewards steady pressure, not hard efforts into the wind.

    • Cap opening effort
    • Fuel early

  2. 45 km–90 km

    Bring the run home

    Use shelter to recover

    Keep the effort even and finish planned nutrition before T2.

    • Let cadence rise
    • Finish planned nutrition

Run

Use the two loops

  1. 0 km–10.5 km

    First loop

    Settle along the harbour

    Use the first loop to reset after the coast.

    • Control the first aid station
    • Keep the first loop easy

  2. 10.5 km–21.1 km

    Second loop

    Earn the finish

    Only progress after form has held through the first loop.

    • Check posture
    • Choose the last move late

04 Race week

What I would keep an eye on

There is no useful 2027 forecast this far out. For now, past race dates give us a point of reference. Closer to the race, the forecast will tell us whether the plan needs changing.

Forecast statusToo early for a forecast

A race-day forecast is not meaningful yet; check back closer to the event.

Temperature
15.6–24.5°CDew point centred on 13.7°C
Wind and gusts
14.3 km/hGusts up to 42.8 km/hPrevailing direction WNW
Rain likelihood
Up to 85%Wet-surface uncertainty retained

Historical baseline, 2019–2025 · Open-Meteo historical archive · Updated 2026-09-13.Historical comparison only. This is not a forecast for 2027.

05 Method

What goes into your range

Your CSS, FTP, weight and run threshold create the first range. Open-water, bike, run and execution evidence can replace broad assumptions. Course data and the historical conditions baseline shape every simulation.

  1. Your numbersCSS · FTP · weight · run threshold
  2. This raceDistance · water type · elevation · exposure
  3. Your Race CardFinish and discipline ranges, with target paces and watts

Confidence is built from four inputs

Athlete evidence
Builds with recent open-water, bike and run efforts
Bike setup
Builds with equipment, mass, aero and tyre detail
Course evidence
Partial while the 2027 route is unconfirmed
Race-week conditions
Historical baseline until a forecast is useful
How the model works

It starts with the targets in your Race Card, then samples the parts of a 70.3 that vary: open-water pace, transitions, bike speed at the planned power, and the drop in run performance after the swim and bike. Repeating that calculation produces a likely range rather than a single heroic number.

The current time calculation uses this race’s published distances, or standard 70.3 distances where none are published, with the available course headings, elevation and exposure evidence. Weather scenarios vary temperature, dew point, wind, gusts, rain and water conditions together. Unknown route detail stays visible as uncertainty rather than false precision.

It is not predicting your exact finishing time, placing, or race-day weather. It answers a narrower question: given the plan and the information we have, what range of day is plausible, and where is the uncertainty coming from?

Confidence is not a permanent “low”. It is recalculated across four separate inputs:

  • Your evidence: consistent inputs and recent race-like swim, bike, and run results.
  • Bike setup: measured or specified aerodynamics rather than a broad prior.
  • The course: verified distance and route character, including elevation and technical sections.
  • The conditions: a current forecast is more useful than a historical comparison.

It starts low when those inputs are broad. It can become moderate or high as the evidence improves. A narrower range means better information, not a guarantee.

06 Next steps

If Les Sables d'Olonne is your race

Your range is built on today’s numbers. The months of training before race day decide what those numbers become.

The work from here.

Self-guided routeHalf-distance training plansTraining plans for the durability this course asks for.See the plans Personalised routeWork with me on the whole buildCoaching when you want the plan and race decisions joined up.See coaching

Further reading

ArticleHow to pace a 70.3 so you can still runThe longer version of the pacing logic behind this Race Card.ArticleFix the first ten minutes off the bikeUseful when exposed bike legs need to become controlled running.

Evidence

Sources and verification

Course status: Partially verified. The organiser’s descriptions and latest published route profiles are in use. The final 2027 route is not yet confirmed. Last checked 2026-09-13.