IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy 2026
A lake swim in the middle of a Belle Epoque spa town, a rolling bike through the Allier countryside, and a run along the riverbank.
1 weeks to race day: the sharpening window
A full build no longer fits, but a sharp one does. This close in, the job is specificity and freshness: race-pace touches, open-water or brick rehearsal, and a taper your nervous system actually absorbs. No heroics; arrive fresh.
Building for this one? 70.3 training plan covers the sessions, the weekly shape and how the block is paced. The R.A.C.E. Framework explains why it is built that way.
Get my race-week execution plan
Three honest inputs. Your first answer appears here; no email wall and no generic plan.
Course risk: The rolling course makes bike restraint and run durability decisive.
Get my race-week execution plan.
Commit to the date and the work gets a shape: your countdown starts, the emails arrive in step with your build, and the app anchors a recovery-led block so the final week lands exactly on race day.
One confirmation email, then the road begins. Registering for the race itself stays with the organiser.
“A proper French endurance town with a lake swim right in the centre. Rolling rather than flat, so hold something back for the second half of the bike.”
The race
The evidence, translated into a decision.
This is not another difficulty score. It connects verified course evidence to the athlete constraints you have already shared with Unbroken.
Choose this race if you value a demanding bike with a more runnable final leg.
Think twice if your available week cannot protect bike durability and recovery; the GPX-derived bike profile shows 1142m of gain.
Build durable climbing, low-cadence strength and disciplined descents, then practise running smoothly after variable bike load.
The course
IRONMAN publishes no route file for this leg, so there is no course map to draw from.
One loop of the Allier, calm and wide, usually swum as the sun comes up. River water at dawn is colder than the forecast suggests, so get in before the start if you can.
One loop through Châteldon and the green Livradois-Forez, including a steady shaded climb to La Guillermie and a mix of descents and false flats afterwards. The false flats are where people lose the run.
Two flat, fast laps around the Lac d'Allier and through the parks of Vichy. Compact and well supported, and easy to run too hard early because it feels so comfortable.
Not yet confirmed for this edition: bike elevation gain, aid station spacing, water temperature. We publish these only once they are on the official course page, so check there before you pace off anything here.
Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors. Routes from the official GPX.
Course details verified against the official IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy course page on 13 August 2026. Courses change; the official page is always the last word.
What is measured, observed and still unknown
Questions, answered
When is IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy 2026?
What distances can I race at IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy?
How hard is the course?
What is the swim like?
How long do I need to train for it?
How do I enter?
Read before you race
IRONMAN 70.3 Tallinn Training Guide
How Much Harder Is a Full IRONMAN Than a 70.3?
IRONMAN Kalmar Swim Preparation for Open Water and Contact
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Photograph of Vichy, Auvergne, France: Tabl-trai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Not official race photography.
This listing is for information only. Unbroken is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IRONMAN 70.3 Vichy or its organiser. Details are based on publicly available information; names are used descriptively to identify the event. For accurate, up-to-date information and to enter, always use the official event website.