I had an okay day in Thun, Switzerland a couple of weeks ago. Slow swim, slow bike, so-so run. Missed Kona by a small bit. But at least the build to get there was original … and started in a Parisian police station. 😊
Details here.
Congratulations on the finish. And what a story about getting your bike back! That had to have been super happy news.
Really enjoyed the report. Thanks
Nice report but looks like you left a lot of time out there from your bike position. That’s an old school type, bars pointed down, but huge frontal area hitting the wind…Bet the aero geeks could get you 30 or 40 watts easy just from the picture there, something to think about going forward…
And the swim, yes swim more, and more often. 1;21 in a wetsuit leaves a lot of low hanging fruit for a young guy like you. Between that and your bike, you are going to be a 9+ hour ironman racer in no time…Good job…
What does IMCH stand for?
You’re making my day, Monty!
Frankly, I didn’t realize how bad the position was on the bike as I didn’t get any pictures from last year. Now that I see it, well.
And same for the swim. Nice to know that there’s progress to be had …
Ironman Switzerland (CH: Confoederatio Helvetica).
Thanks for the kind words! The report took longer to write than the actual racing.
Thanks for the kind words! And getting the Px back … You have no idea how good that feels!
In fact, the most improbable part of the whole story is that my insurance actually reimbursed me … within a week. Frankly, coming from dealing with insurance companies in the US, I wasn’t expecting much but getting it fully reimbursed. AND within a few days? Wow. Simply wow. Shout out to La mobilière.
So the sequence goes: I got it stolen and got it reimbursed. A few week or two later I was informed it had been found, then I got it back, and then I bought it back from the insurance …
And there’s a lot more as well as to how the police tracked it. Funny how you get attached to these objects once you have a history with them!
You’re over there! Wow
Do you still have the Motebecane you used to commute through West-U on?
Hi Arnaud
What a great race report thanks for writing. I really enjoyed reading it . Congrats on your result!
I googled Thun and it looks beautiful it would be fun to race there. The challenge with Switzerland is that I dont like the cold and I am allergic to hills so IMCH would clearly be a real battle for me lol !
Anyways thanks again for taking the time to do the write up and photos etc and all the best with your next race!
Pat
Great report, good race.
Try intervals.icu instead of TP.
The UI is very messy and takes a while to get used to since there are so many options and no consistency. But its a billion times better then TP and you can configure everything (once you figure out how to) to show you exactly what you want.
Nope, I sold that one a couple of years ago. Now I commute on a BMC. While in Switzerland, may as well do like the Swiss … 😊
And there’s a lot more as well as to how the police tracked it. Funny how you get attached to these objects once you have a history with them!
I’d love to hear this story
Enjoyed reading the report!
I think you already know the key changes to make to your bike fit, so many quick wins there by just raising that front end up a decent amount. As Monty said, it’s very old school ala Lance in his early TdF TT days!
The EX11 cockpit is fine, you really only have the option to change the cups and extensions. You can get 15 degrees of tilt easily. I use the profile design arm cups and love them, also have their ASC extensions which have yet to be used, currently running from D2Z ones.
Missing that slot by a little over 3 mins must have been a bit gut wrenching, but well done for being in a position to be so close to getting the slot!
Good report. You’re clearly keeping your ego in check, which many people training 15+ hours a week struggle to do. Great run!!! And they say the run is the sport that “goes down first” with age.
The coordination between Swiss and French police forces really surprised me. It’s hard enough to find a bike inside a country, let alone inside a continent. Well done, Frenchies.
Congratulations Arnaud, well done!
I wasn’t there in person, but I’ve received many reports from friends - it was definitely a hard day out there in Thun. It’s never been supposed to be an easy day, but the weather made it extra hard this year.
Do you think you’d have a better ‘peak’ if you had raced 5 weeks earlier, just after that 20h/week big block? How did you feel that time?
Timing a season in late spring is always tricky because of my travel schedule. Frankly, right after that block of several weeks I was ready for a break so, no, it probably wouldn’t have been better.
It’s such a small-town atmosphere with great vibe… It’s such a shame they’re moving the race to late August. That won’t work for me, so I’ll go find another race.
Timing a season in late spring is always tricky because of my travel schedule. Frankly, right after that block of several weeks I was ready for a break so, no, it probably wouldn’t have been better.
It’s such a small-town atmosphere with great vibe… It’s such a shame they’re moving the race to late August. That won’t work for me, so I’ll go find another race.
I have an idea for that 
Nice upgrade - location AND bike!
Well done on on your IM re-entry