Mignon third at Ironman 70.3 Les Sables D'Olonne, his second podium finish in a row at Ironman Pro Series
Clément Mignon finished 3rd at IM70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne after a decisive move in the final kilometers of the run. The Frenchman raced in front of his home crowd to a 3:40:47 finishing time, just 50 seconds shy of first place. His teammate Thor Bendix Madsen made his comeback after injury with a 12th place finish (3:45:31) in his first race of the season. Nicolas Mann (GER; 3:39:48) broke the tape, closely followed by Youri Keulen (NED; 3:40:24).
Fully recovered from his 9th place at T100 San Francisco, Clément Mignon was ready to take on a strong field in front of his home crowd at IM70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne. He had a great swim, exiting the water in 9th place, only half a minute behind the lead. On the bike, a big leading group of ten athletes was immediately established, including Mignon. Biding his time in the first half of the up-and-down bike course, the BMC athlete went to the front to push the pace in the second part. He managed to cut down the group to seven athletes and helped grow the lead to 2 minutes coming into T2.
From that point onwards, it was obvious that the battle for the podium spots would be fought on the run. Clément took off in 5th place and briefly dropped down to 7th place. Just like during the bike leg, the Frenchman kept his pace in control in the early stages and worked his way up from there. At the halfway mark, he had moved up to 5th place, trailing the final podium spot by 20 seconds. With 5k to go, that gap had grown by another 10 seconds, but that’s when Mignon's final push started.
He managed to chase down Bogen and make a pass in the closing kilometers to cross the finish line in 3rd place in front of his home fans. With this performance, Clément has clinched his slot for IM70.3 World Championships in Taupo, only a month after securing his Kona slot at Ironman Texas. With back-to-back podium finishes in the Ironman Pro Series, Mignon also strengthens his points tally in the overall ranking.
'My best numbers'
“It was a really fast race today. I think I have put up my best numbers on the bike and run. The level of racing was high all day long. It is a great motivation to go all in. And it is a great feeling to have such a strong field and an Ironman Pro Series here in France. It felt amazing to get cheered on by so many people. The beginning of the run was at a really fast pace, so I tried to manage my energy to the finish with success. I ran a PB, finishing close to the winner, which is important for the Pro Series points. After my 3rd place in Texas and today, I hope I can get to the top step of the podium in one of my next races at IM Frankfurt or IM70.3 Zell am See. With Kona and now Taupo added to the race calendar, it will be a long season, but very interesting nonetheless.”
Teammate Thor Bendix Madsen toed the line in Les Sables d’Olonne as well in his first race after his injury. The Dane settled inside the chase group during the swim. He pushed the pace on the bike to lead the first chase group while battling for 6th place. On the run, he was able to keep a strong pace to come home in 12th place.
