Congrats. I would check the IM France page for lodging advice. The general pattern for 70.3 slots outside of the US will not change just because it is Nice. I expect to see deep rolldowns late in the qualifying cycle ... doesn't matter where it is; it is simply harder for folks to handle international logistics when you get within 3 months of the race date.

I heard that slots did not roll very far at Santa Rosa. In M30-34 it went to 8th, M35-39 & 40-44 did not roll - that's all the info I got. It definitely sounds a lot different from rolldowns I attended for Australia or South Africa where slots remained unclaimed.

I really want to go but my wife is a teacher and probably cannot make it so I am feeling very torn about whether to go on my own, or maybe do an IM France trip instead.

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You simply cannot compare roll-downs early in the qualifying cycle to roll-downs late in the qualifying cycle. When people have a year or more to plan, the take rate tends to be much higher. I would agree that Nice will be more desirable for some than Port Elizabeth, but the general pattern will not change. People that desperately want to go to Nice should just make the lodging reservations now and seek out a qualifying 70.3 in late Jun/early Jul 2019.

Having been to Nice several times in recent years, including for IM Nice, I'd recommend looking at apartments rather than hotel, as they can be pretty expensive if you're there for a while. There are hundreds of apartments all over the town; the last couple of times we've rented through a company called Nice Pebbles, who have been very good. In terms of location, it's not that big a town really, so anywhere west of the Marina and south of the railway line won't be that too far to walk to expo/start. It's also quite easy logitically once you get to Nice, as the airport is really close to town (short bus or taxi, and the new tram line may well be open by then) and there's no need for a car at all unless you want to go sightseeing somewhere, as the public transport is very good.

Thank you vey much for apartment recommendation! I will look into this option.

Regarding the IM web site, they are using Nirvana agency and only list 5 hotels. Not sure if their listing are the best choices.

Ohio did have some deep roll downs. I placed in the top 5 of the 40-44 age group and turned down my slot (there were a total of 3 available). No one in the top 5 of the 40-44 AG took a slot. I think 6th and 8th took slots and the last one rolled down to 25th!

Noooo! I was 20th in the 45-49 age group and didn't stick around because I thought it would never go that deep. Do you have any idea what it went to in mine?

ALWAYS attend roll-down if you are interested in a slot.

Unfortunately, I don't know the M44-45 roll down. I stayed around to get my plaque and then figured I would stay to see how my AG would shake out and then immediately leave. I do know that M44-45 had 2 slots available.

I was in an older AG and left before they got to the youngsters! I can only attest that the more senior athletes were snatching up the slots quickly and there was a long line of people waiting to pay when I left. Can't speak for the 40-44 AG.

Our european travel has always been done with AirBnB and we have had some awesome spots in the heart of cities at much better and far less cost than hotels. We've even had washers and dryers so you can pack lighter. Taking a quick look, it appears Nice has some very reasonable options.....

I was having a look as well but I don't think a lot of hotels are bookable yet, and often they do block bookings to travel operators, wouldn't be surprised if a few aren't already increasing prices for it as well.

Going on the 70.3 race there in a few weeks I'm fairly sure it is a single transition so hopefully less faffing about, but I'm guessing the males will have to rack on Saturday afternoon after the ladies race has finished, I'm guessing that's what is happening at this years?

If the bike course is the same, it's something like 14 miles flat, 14 miles uphill, 14 miles downhill, flat back to T2, with about 1000M of climbing, but they could change the route.

Run looks completely flat along the seafront, which I guess is probably the same as for the full IM.

Jeff

I'm racing the test event this year. I'll let you know how it was and give you some tips.

I took a roll down slot this wknd at Whistler, BC, Canada (3rd in 55-59 AG). The new Whistler route is a good primer for Nice! The Nice web site has good course info (GPX and pdf too). I'm a swimmer, not a cyclist, so kind of dreading the big climb! Fortunately we have great mountains here in Vancouver to train on. Got a year to get in hill climbing shape. The harder part of the hill climb in Nice looks like it's 7 miles at 7% very even grade. There's a 5 min YouTube clip on the 2017 Nice race https://www.youtube.com/...essportInternational You can see that there are lots of athletes using road bikes, some with aero bars. Makes sense. I did that in Whistler on the wknd with wheel covers (don't have a disc wheel). Certainly comfortable going up the steeper grades, but I'm sure that it was a bit of a negative on overall speed. My objective in the next year is to get stronger and better skilled on my TT on hills so I can actually use it on hard inclines, knowing that I'll rocket on the descents and flats.

Congrats on joining us in Nice for the 2019 WC! Thanks for the insight on the bike course. I may switch my racing wheels to my road bike and leave the tri bike home. Frankly, the mt climb at Zell am See in 2015 really kicked my butt. I was not prepared for the 15.5% incline at the top and ran out of gears...it made for long day! This time I will use a compact crank to help get over the top.

Yikes, 15.5% is nasty!

When looking at apartments, is there a street or key word to look for to know it will be walking distance to start, etc..

I've done IM France with Nirvana package and it was great. Stayed in Hôtel Ibis Nice Centre Notre Dame I think. Tiny, but comfortable + great breakfast and walk to everything.

Not the hijack this thread, but I know the guy you took that last M40-44 spot at Ohio 70.3...I was shocked to find out he's gong to Worlds.....this early and it being in Nice that it rolled-down to 25th.

I'm the "lucky" guy in the 40-44 group from Ohio, I was extremely shocked it went that deep, honestly wasn't expecting it and was there more for a teammate.....but as the saying goes you never know what might happen and if you are interested in a spot, show up.

As to the question about the M45-49 roll down, it stayed in the top 10 (I think maybe even top 5-6) my buddy was 15th and (obviously) didn't get a spot. To my knowledge M40-44 was the only group to roll to the double digits.

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How many days in advance will everyone get there? I took a slot at Ohio too. My plan would be to arrive as close to the race as a can and head to Spain or Italy after the race.

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Based on the schedule from Chatt and SA, the "reception" dinner will most likely be on Thursday evening and awards/finishers banquet on Sunday. So I'm planning on arriving Thursday, since I'm not racing till Sunday that gives part of Thursday and all of Friday for sign-in and sightseeing. Will probably then leave on Monday for sightseeing elsewhere.

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[/url]Hi Bob,

My 2 cents:

1. Accommodation
As a French guy living in Sydney, I will make the trip to race Nice 70.3 Worlds next year and am booking a house in Nice’s neighbourhood for 3 days. There are plenty supercool and very affordable houses in Nice’s countryside (check Airbnb or Booking), 15mn drive from Nice. (eg: https://goo.gl/17p1g6). If the event schedule is consistent with 70.3 Worlds in previous years, you’ll need to arrive there Friday morning to check-in anyway, so almost 3 days on site.
Staying in Vence also makes it easier if you want to check the climb and the descent on the Friday afternoon

Nice is not a particularly nice town, and will probably be hectic with the event, full of police (see terrorist attacks in Nice for Bastille Day 2016 on the “Promenade des Anglais), so wouldn’t recommend to stay in town unless you ABSOLUTELY want to be close to the start line.

2. Bike course
Unless Ironman updates it from the 1st edition of the event in 2018, this should be the bike course: https://www.strava.com/routes/15415469

From reading race reports (https://goo.gl/zLKxgF, https://goo.gl/dyS78e, couldn’t find any in English, Google may help you with that?), looks like there are 2 short 500m climbs at 15% around km15, then a 10km climb at 7% average at km30

Hope this helps
Nico

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Bit late here, so hopefully this is still useful for you -

(I am going to assume you have never traveled to Europe for a race. If you have, ignore my advice)

Caveats out of the way: remember that you will be racing at effectively 1 in the morning Eastern Time. I'm European and live in Canada, and am quite used to travelling back, but I pretty badly misjudged my planning when I raced the duathlon worlds in Denmark this summer. I flew in on Wednesday, registration etc on Thursday, racing Friday morning, and I definitely wasn't at my best. In hindsight I should have gotten to Europe the weekend before.

So my recommendation would be to do at least part of your sightseeing beforehand. Unless you're one of those people that can sleep anytime, anywhere.

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