For once, two inaugural events were held simultaneously on Sunday, July 25. On the one hand, a half-long distance triathlon at Lac William in the municipality of Saint-Ferdinand welcomed 113 daredevils. On the other, U13, U15, discovery, sprint and Olympic triathlons in St-Mathieu de Rioux, with an impressive 33o participants.
DAN-TES-QUE! Here’s a good summary of the day that awaited participants in this first Lac William triathlon. If the difficulty was (supposedly) known to all, weather conditions added another layer of difficulty to an event that already had a good dose of it. While the swim was supposed to be the easiest part, given the gradient of the bike and run, the wind and waves made things much more complex. Once out of the water, it was time to measure up to the 1,650m of ascent over 90km (with sections at over 17%) offered by this course in a sumptuous setting, when the weather offered the opportunity to admire it. For dessert, the half-marathon was just as hilly, with almost 450m of ascent and descent, but with the appearance of the sun as a reward.
From a sporting point of view, Nicolas Gilbert arrived as the overwhelming favourite and lived up to his billing with a top-class performance. The former Team Québec athlete won the race in a time of 4h17’13 “”, ahead of his former Team Québec team-mate Jérémie Martin (4h31’34 “”). The podium was completed by Olivier Forest (4h37’271 “”) who, after dominating our virtual race series, confirmed the watts he had seen this winter. In the women’s race, the Rouge et Or club left nothing but crumbs, placing three athletes on the box. Victory went to Clara Emond (5h11’01 “”) ahead of Alice Coté-Allard (5h29’05 “”) and Justine Bluteau-Girard (5h29’42 “”).
Find all the results here!
Even before the first start, this first edition was a success, with nearly 350 participants ready to discover the magnificent Mont-St-Mathieu triathlon course. Add to this the presence of Pierre Lavoie as spokesman and participant, and all the conditions were in place to make the day a great triathlon celebration.
The day began at 7:30 a.m. with the start of the Olympic distance. In the men’s race, victory went to Nicolas Masse-Savard (2h09’18”) ahead of Simon Barrette (2h09’44”) and Éliott Bérubé (2h10’27”). On the girls’ side, Catherine Lord (2h30’07”) won ahead of Ann-Sophie Czech (2h31’46”) and Pamela Poirier-Ouellet (2h36’50”).
In the sprint distance, Pierre Lavoie lived up to his billing, winning in 1h06’59 “” ahead of Samuel Lavoie (1h08’44 “” ), who is not his son, and Étienne Brillant (1h09’35 “”). Among the girls, Jorane Bouchard (1h16’39 “”), Marieve Tessier-Proulx (1h17’31 “”) and Annie-Claude Bédard (1h18’06 “”) took the top three places.
Find all the results here!
