(Quebec) The Quebec triathlon community received bad news this summer when they learned of the abandonment of the full distance Ironman in Mont-Tremblant. However, news that will be announced with great fanfare this Tuesday in Quebec should make people happy.
The capital will host an international caliber triathlon from July 2024 under the Challenge Family banner, Ironman’s main competitor, La Presse has learned.
The event will be organized by the former race director of Ironman Mont-Tremblant and the Montreal Marathon, Dominique Piché. It will take place the weekend of July 20, 2024.
The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, and the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale, Jonatan Julien, are due to make the announcement this Tuesday at the port of Quebec.
“This will be the first event of this scale in long-distance triathlon in Quebec City. It could be a spectacular environment, very urban,” commented the general director of Triathlon Québec, Marie-Ève Sullivan, when La Presse requested her comments.
The race will also offer more modest distances such as the sprint, the Olympic and even a discovery distance (375m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run).
This announcement further shakes up the cards in the small Quebec world of triathlon. This summer, the Ironman Mont-Tremblant organization announced that it was going to abandon the full distance in 2024 to focus on the half. Abandoning the famous Ironman (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and 42 km run) had the effect of a cold shower.
“For the triathlon community in Quebec, I think this will be great news. When Ironman announced the end of the full house this summer, we knew that another big player was coming. I think it will be interesting to have an Ironman event in Quebec, but also a Challenge race,” says Ms. Sullivan.
Could a long-distance triathlon, equivalent to an Ironman, one day be presented by the Challenge in Quebec? That would be a possibility.
The organizer of the Quebec race, Dominique Piché, is a well-known figure in endurance sports. This former police officer had convinced Ironman to settle in Mont-Tremblant. He became producer and director of the prestigious race.
Mr. Piché was also race director of the Montreal Marathon. The adventure ended with a bang when the man resigned in 2019. A young runner died of cardiac arrest after waiting ten minutes for help.
Dominique Piché resigned in the following days, citing his “desire to demonstrate accountability, a quality that I hold in high esteem.”
Mr. Piché remained involved in the organization of Ironman Mont-Tremblant until 2022.
The Challenge triathlon series is, for its part, the main competitor of Ironman, although it is little known in Quebec. The franchise is present almost everywhere on the planet. It is no longer in North America, after more or less successful trials. Until a few years ago, Challenge had 14 races in Canada and the United States.
Some Challenge races offer full distances, the equivalent of a complete Ironman, including the Roth event in Germany, its most legendary. But the vast majority, around thirty events, offer half.
Challenge and the organizers commit to presenting the Quebec event for at least three years. It will always take place the weekend following the Quebec Summer Festival.
