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A grand palace surrounded by expansive formal gardens and a large reflecting pool, located in Versailles, France.
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IRONMAN 70.3 Versailles.
Race Versailles on your terms.

You begin in the Grand Canal with the château country all around you. Then the Chevreuse Valley asks you to climb before you return to Versailles for three busy run laps. This is a race for athletes who can admire the setting without letting it choose their effort.

Versailles, France, Palace and park.

Course
Swim 1.9 km · Bike 90 km · Run 21.1 km
Historical air
8–18°C

What could you race?

I’m Tom, the coach behind Sense Endurance Coaching. Tell me where you are now and I’ll show you what a strong day in Versailles could look like.

Let’s build your race

Let’s build your race.

Your age and race category help me estimate where that performance could place you. They don’t determine how fast I think you can race.

Change units

Leave the climbs in the valley.

The Côte de la Vacheresse and the 17 Tournants ask for controlled climbing. The next task is running past the Pièce d’Eau des Suisses and through the city, not proving how hard you rode them.

Grand Canal · swim and T1

Settle in the canal, then find your blue bag.

Use regular sighting through the canal and keep your opening effort controlled. Follow the marked route to T1 on Allée de la Reine.

Sight early, settle into rhythm. Let the field spread before you commit to pace.

Chevreuse Valley · opening bike

Start fuelling before you need to climb.

Use the opening part of the Chevreuse Valley ride to settle power and begin fuelling. Do not wait for the named climbs to remind you to eat.

Start drinking before the terrain changes. Check effort before speed.

Vacheresse and the 17 Tournants · bike

Change gear before you change effort.

Vacheresse and the 17 Tournants are short enough to invite an attack and long enough to make it costly. Shift before the road steepens, leave yourself room on the turns and keep the run in your calculations.

Shift early on both climbs. Use the descents to recover, not attack. A strong climb here is not free speed later.

Back to Versailles · final bike section

Arrive at Allée des Mortemets ready to run.

Bring effort under control as you return to Versailles. Finish planned nutrition and follow the marked entry to T2 on Allée des Mortemets.

Finish the bottle you planned. Let cadence rise before T2.

Pièce d’Eau des Suisses · opening run

Let the opening loop settle your stride.

The opening run passes the Pièce d’Eau des Suisses and the Potager du Roi. Give your legs time to settle before increasing pace.

Shorten your stride on the unpaved section. Take the first aid station deliberately.

Historic streets · middle run

Use repeated landmarks to check your form.

Three passes through Versailles are three opportunities to be pulled along by the occasion. Keep your eyes on the surface, your hands relaxed and your fuelling regular. The landmarks can wait until you have earned the finish.

Shorten your stride over the cobblestones. Assign a check to each landmark. The finish line you pass isn't yours until the last loop.

Avenue de Paris · run finish

Keep one controlled change for the finish.

When you turn onto the last lap, take stock of the climb-heavy bike and the two laps already behind you. If form and breathing are still there, choose your moment to lift the pace.

Look for three good kilometres. Keep the finish decision yours.

What to check in race week

Visit both transition locations: Allée de la Reine for T1 and Allée des Mortemets for T2. Review the latest bike map and your gearing for Vacheresse and the 17 Tournants, then walk the run finish approach on Avenue de Paris.

Forecast statusToo early for a forecast

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

Temperature
8.0–17.6°CDew point centred on 9.6°C
Wind and gusts
11.6 km/hGusts up to 47.9 km/hPrevailing direction SW
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 2026.

Race-week email is available once the organiser confirms the event date.

Build the legs.
Practise the decisions.

A finish range gives you something to work towards. The preparation is specific to this race: Training has to make the valley climbs manageable without sacrificing the stride you need for three loops through Versailles.

I’m Tom. With Sense Endurance Coaching, I’ll build that preparation around your life, follow how you respond and adjust the work as you get closer to Versailles.

Explore coaching
Trisutto certified80/20 Endurance certifiedBrett Sutton’s Coach the Coach programme

Training on your own? See half distance plans

Course sourceOfficial course

PhotographyThomas1313CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized, cropped and monochrome; same licence