Race Day in Tours: Timeline, Mistakes Already Made, and Plan B

The Two Days Before

Friday: arrive, get settled, do a light spin to loosen up the legs. Saturday is the operational day: pick up your bib and bags at the expo center, prep your gear, drop off your bike and bags in transition. Transition is a single, indoor setup: take advantage of it for a proper recon. Walk the route you'll follow on race day: the swim entrance, the roughly 400 m to the bike park, your rack spot, bike out, bike in, run out.

And do a full mental rehearsal of your transition sequence. This isn't a theoretical exercise: in 2025 one athlete ran the entire run leg wearing bike gloves he'd forgotten to take off. Go through the sequence item by item the day before, when you're thinking clearly, not on race morning.

Race Morning

Transition access for final checks: tire pressure, bottles, nutrition mounted, bike computer on. Then the wetsuit decision. The official average water temperature of the Cher is 19°C; in 2025 water above 20°C was reported with wetsuits still allowed. The official call comes on race day: bring your wetsuit and be ready for both scenarios, including a race kit under the wetsuit that works without it.

Swim: 1,909 m in the Cher

One single lap, rectangular course in the river. A detail reported in 2025: calf cramps on the swim exit. Two simple countermeasures: a proper warm-up before the start, and no sprinting in the final meters of the swim. There's nothing to gain in those 50 meters and plenty to lose.

T1: 400 Meters That Are Part of the Race

From the water to the bike park it's about 400 m. Use them well: open your wetsuit right away, breathe, regain control. It's a stretch you can turn from lost time into active recovery. Budget for it: your T1 here will be longer than usual, and that's normal.

Bike: Discipline for 87 km

The flat, fast course is a trap for anyone who gets carried away by the speed. Hold your target wattage. Follow your tested nutrition plan, without overdoing it: the 2025 case of too many carbs and too much water, ending in bloating and a bathroom stop, is the perfect reminder. Aid stations at km 18, 47, and 72. In the final 5 km, the only section not fully closed to traffic in 2025, stay focused all the way to the dismount line.

T2 and the Run

In T2, execute the sequence you rehearsed the day before. Then two flat laps along the Cher, with 10 aid stations between km 1.4 and 19.9. First lap controlled, second lap managed or building, depending on how you feel and how hot it is.

Plan B: The Heat

The official data says 13-22°C. The 2025 edition hit 32°C. You need two plans ready and you choose on race morning:

• Mild day: standard pacing, standard nutrition
• Hot day: conservative pace on the first run lap, ice and water on your body at every aid station, sodium per your tested protocol, time goal revised downward without drama

Mistakes Already Made (So You Don't Repeat Them)

• Overloading carbs and fluids on the bike → bloating and lost time
• Items forgotten in T2 (gloves worn on the run) → mental rehearsal the day before
• Hard swim exit → calf cramps
• Easing off in the final 5 km of the bike on the open-to-traffic section → needless risk

The Finish

The finish line is indoors, at the expo center, in the same spot where it all started. Simple post-race logistics: gear pickup and reuniting with your supporters all in one place.