IM WC Nice cautionary tale

Triathlon Forum
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Because of the nature of the course a significant portion is raced at >1000m. On race day Nice was cloudy and only reached a high of 23C at about 4pm. If you take the rule of thumb 1/2deg C per 100m my guesstimate is that on the plateau it was never above 15/16C for most during the race. Add >40kmh winds and that is a recipe for hypothermia….

…which is what happened to my other half. At ~150km she stopped at an aid station for… she wasn’t sure what! Classic symptoms of hypothermia. The volunteers called the first aid guys and she spent ~30mins in an ambulance warming up.

Moral: think about what it will be like on top if the weather isn’t as planned :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:, especially if the athlete has a high surface area to volume ratio!! It never even entered our minds when planning, our biggest concern was whether the water would cool enough to allow wetsuits… :man_shrugging:t3:

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Interesting thoughts.

Hypothermia risks @ WC Nice.

Heatstroke risks @ WC Kona.

ETA glad your wife is OK and definite bummer she didn’t get the race she wanted/ to finish. Hope you both got to enjoy the rest of the trip.

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I have gone hypothermic in an iron distance race in conditions that were in the low teens. DNF on the bike.

Some of us just don’t handle cool temperatures well.

Invest in a good cycling vest, waterproof/windproof jacket and good toe warmers…

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The issue wasn’t lack of clothing, it was lack of thought! It was 27 and sunny the day before :sunglasses:. The only conversation about temp was water, it literally didn’t even occur to us. Côte d’Azur, September and hypothermia aren’t usually in the same sentence :rofl:

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Says the Nordic Skier….

I’m sure you handle it better than most.:grin:

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For skiing I always have proper clothing and I didn’t just get out of a lake. :smile:
I still struggle with my feet and hands though, as I think I did permanent damage to them when growing up and froze them a few times.

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