This post is also available in: French

Preamble

 Triangle Events has agreed on a frame of conjoint rules and regulations. Its purpose is to ensure that athletes find identical conditions regarding these rules at all Triangle IRONMAN races. The following rules and regulations will apply for all IRONMAN / IRONMAN 70.3 Triangle races in Europe.

Nevertheless, each triathlon has its own particularities. The athlete is responsible to spot these particularities by reading the regulation of each Triangle race.

Consequently, this regulation is specific to the Ironman France – Nice.

General 

1. Each athlete undertakes to respect all the aspects of the regulation.

2. In the case of one point missing, the rules of national boards where the race takes place shall apply.

3. Each athlete is responsible for his/her own intermediate and end time registration. The timing chip must be worn throughout the entire race around the ankle.

4. In case of loss or malfunctioning of the timing chip, the athlete is responsible to get a new chip in the prison located in the transition area.

5. Start numbers may not be reduced in size or altered AND must be visible at all times. Start numbers can be worn on a race belt and the number must be secured to this belt at a minimum of three points.  The belt must placed at the lowest level of the waist. Any other position of the belt could be an issue of conformity in accordance to the “Stop and Go” procedure.

6. The competitors must take race provisions only at the designated aid stations provided by the organizers.

7. From Check-in to Check-out only athletes, officials, doctors, rescue and security staff, and accredited journalists are allowed to enter the transition area and the bike park.

8. The athletes receive in their “Race package”:

-  One ATHLETE wristband: will be COMPULSORY fixed to the athlete’s wrist by a volunteer during the registration on spot. The athlete must constantly wear this wristband.

- One Bike sticker: must be COMPULSORY fixed on the seatpost of your bike.

There are chips in the wristband and the sitcker that permit us to ensure that each athlete checks their equipment out.

9. On Sunday morning, day of the race, the modifications of the wheels are forbidden.

10. Material prizes which are not collected during the Awards Ceremony are forfeited.

11. The organizers reserve the right to reject applications for reasons important to them.

12. Competitors disqualified because of evident fraud will not be allowed to start in an IRONMAN race in Europe for the following two years.

13. Competitors MUST respect rules and be respectful with marshals, volunteers, spectators and organizers during along the race week, from the registration to the Heroes night.

14. Competitors MUST respect eco-zones for throwing away their waste (any wastes in any case). Any cups, bottles, packaging waste and others various wastes thrown outside eco-zones set up by the organization is forbidden and punishable.

15. The athlete must REFUSE any outside help: support, supplies, technical assistance and material support by anyone outside of the race or another competitor. The athlete should not let all or a part of his equipment outside the transition area or fixed points set up by the organization.

Course 

• · Swim course: Length 3.8 Km; two loops (2.4 km and 1.4 km).
• · Bike course: Length 180 Km ; one loop
• · Run Course: Length 42.195 Km; 4 laps on the Promenade des Anglais.

Start

 1. The swim warm-up before the start has to take place in front of the departure line between 6.00 am and 6.15 am.

2. Athletes have to respect the instructions of the marshals concerning the set up and the start positions.

3. Any break away start (early start) will lead to immediate disqualification.

Swim

 1. Should a swim not be possible due to weather conditions (thunder storm, etc.), the race shall be conducted as a “Bike & Run”. The course for the bike and run course shall not be altered.

2. It is permitted to swim in a wet-suit up to a water temperature 24°C. The wetsuit must be taken off only in the transition tent. The athlete him/herself must put it into the clothing bag. To avoid the mixing up or loss of the wetsuit please write your name on the wetsuit.

3. In case it is forbidden to swim in a wet-suit, the athletes may only wear a swim suit with FINA certification. Wearing more than one swim suit is forbidden.

4. It is not permitted to wear socks or gloves during the swim.

5. Official Swim caps issued by the organizer MUST be worn.

6. Only official boats and rescue boats are allowed on the race course.

7. Race numbers MUST NOT be worn during the swim.

8. It is not allowed to take a short cut.

9. The athlete is not allowed to walk or to have your legs in contact with the ground expect in the case of shallow water and is not allowed to take support on a moving ship.

10. The athlete is not allowed to give all or a part of his equipment to a third at the exit of the water.

Transition

 1. The bike helmet must be put into the BIKE bag.

2. The bike shoes can be either in the BIKE bag or clipped onto the bike.

3. The athletes have to change of clothes only in the transition tent. Nudity is forbidden, people who want to get naked will necessarily have to access to one of the four tents provided for this purpose in the transition area. One will be reserved for women.

4. For the transition Swim to Bike, Athletes have to take their bike equipment out of the BIKE bag and pack away their swim clothes in this bag themselves.

For the transition Bike to Swim, Athletes have to take their run clothes out of the RUN bag and pack away their bike equipment in this bag themselves.

5. On exiting the transition area, athletes will have to place their bag in the DROP OFF zone.

6. No access to transition area (BIKE and RUN bags) on Sunday morning before the start.

Bike Park

 1. After the Check-in, no helmet can be left on the bike (helmet put in the BIKE bag).

2. During the Check-in you can leave your bike shoes clipped on the bike.

3. The athletes must ride mostly on the right of the right side of the road at all times.

4. Athletes have to get their bike from the rack themselves.

5. Athletes have to follow the sense of circulation in the bike park.

6. Push your bike to the bike park exit. Athletes are allowed to mount their bike only after having left the bike park; until the line.

7. The athlete has to dismount the bike before he enters the bike park; until the line.

8. On entering the bike park, athletes have to give the bike to a volunteer who will rack it.

9. In the bike park, the athlete must still go by foot, bike in hand, helmet on the head with the chinstrap closed.

Bike

 1. Drafting is forbidden.

2. The athletes must ride mostly on the right of the right side of the road at all times.

3. Athletes must respect the French Traffic Law and not cut corners.

4. The minimum distance between the bikes is 7 m, measuring from the front wheel of the bike in front to the front wheel of the bike at the back.

5. A breach of this rule results in a black card and a time penalty (6 minutes at IRONMAN).

6. If the athlete receives a black card, he must stop at the next penalty box to effectuate his penalty (black card = 6 minutes).

7. There is 1 penalty box on the bike course, located at the Col de l’Ecre (km 70). An additional penalty box is located in the transition Bike/Run.

8. There will be one designated aid station on the bike course where handling of special needs by support personnel is permitted. It is forbidden to take the bag on the bike; the athlete must stop and take only the contents of the bag.

If the athlete plans a special needs aid station (bike and run), he is in charge of asking for special needs bags at on spot race registration. His race number will be marked immediately on the bags. The athlete will hand in his special needs bags on race day from 5:00 to 6:15 at the bike park entrance.
Please use the bags exclusively for special needs and not for valuables and clothing because THEY WILL BE THROWN AFTER THE RACE. The organizer will not take any responsibility for lost items.

9. Wearing a sanctioned hard shell helmet with the chinstrap closed is compulsory on the entire bike course.

10. Each athlete must wear his/her start number perfectly visibly (not folded, not cut) on their back. Any modification of that start number is strictly forbidden.

11. Athletes are allowed to repair their bikes only with their own tools and replacement parts, except in the assistance area provided by the organization.

12. The frame-start number must be fixed in such a way on the bike that it can be seen from both sides.

13. The helmet numbers must be attached to the front of the helmet and on both sides.

14. Blocking rule: The overtaken athlete has to fall back the drafting distance as soon as the overtaking athlete’s front wheel passes him to respect the distance.

15. A passing maneuver has to be completed within 30 seconds. The athlete being passed is responsible for re-establishing the distance allowed, even if he intends to start a passing maneuver himself.

16. The athlete MUST respect wastes areas located 1 before and 1 after each aid station (eco-zone). Please respect this rule and consider that gels and bars papers are really polluting the nature. You can easily keep it with you and throw it when coming back to the transition area. Do not respect this rule is punishable.

17. It is forbidden to race naked torso or with tri suit opened under the sternum.

18. The athlete must not use radio, cell phone, MP3 player, walkman or any other audio equipment.

Run / Coaching

 1. Coaching is defined as support of an athlete during the race by acclamation or shouting encouragement. Coaching is generally allowed with the following restrictions:

• · It is not permitted to use electronic or other amplifying devices.
• · All other forms of coaching where the supporting person moves with or passes the athlete (via vehicle, bicycle, inline skates, running, etc.) are not permitted. A distance of 10m must be respect between the athlete and the supporting person.
• · Coaching is permitted only from the side of the course, meaning the coaching person is not allowed to be on the race course and/or moving with the athlete.
• · Athletes are not allowed to accept accompaniment or pace maker services by foot or vehicle. This also includes following the athlete.

2. It is forbidden to leave the run course or take a short cut.

3. The start number must be perfectly visible and on the front of your body.

4. Hair bands (“chouchous”) are distributed at each end of the loop to prove that the athletes passed the different loops; it’s the athlete responsibility to ensure he collects the bands himself. Before entering the finish line, the athlete must have collected 3 “chouchous” (no “chouchou” for the fourth loop).

5. Running without a top (singlet, shirt) is forbidden.

6. The athlete must not use radio, cell phone, MP3 player, walkman or any other audio equipment.

7. The athlete MUST throw his wastes in the eco-zones. Do not respect this rule is punishable.

Cut-off times

 1. Cut-off for the swim is 2:15 hours (8:45 am).

2. Cut-off time for the swim and bike split is 10:45 hours (5:15 pm).

3. Time limit on the bike is 3:10 pm on the turn in Saint Barnabé (K110).

4. Cut-off for the complete race is 16:30 hours.

Anti-pollution

 1. The start of the swim on the beach must be taken barefoot: sandals, flip-flops, etc are forbidden.

2. Throwing away of any rubbish (papers, bottles, cups) outside of the dedicated eco zones is prohibited and will lead to a red card if the action is done intentionally and to a yellow card if the action can be repaired.

Penalty card management

 1. The referees can show red, yellow and black cards.

· Red card _ immediate disqualification

_ Grossly unsportsmanlike behavior

_ Bad attitude with marshals, volunteers, spectators, organizers,…

_ Refuse to be in conformity

_ Start number cut and no possibility to change it

_ Shortcut without possibility of coming back to conformity

_ Assistance or repair by a person

_ Non respect of the Traffic Law (e.g. to cut a band)

_ Serious drafting

_ Take a supply outside the areas provided

_ Throw wastes out of the eco-zones

_ Cut-off time exceeded

· Black card _ time penalty of 6 minutes

_ Drafting

· Yellow card _ warning or stop & go

_ Bad position on the start line

_ Wearing compression socks during the swim

_ Biking in the transition area

_ Helmet chinstrap not closed in the transition area

_ Accompaniment by a person in the transition area

_ Bad storage of the bike and/or equipment in the transition area

_ Urinating from the bike or in transition zones outside of the Dixi toilets

_ Blocking

_ Crossing of the line on the bike at the entry of the transition Bike/Run

_ Leaving the transition area by walking without the helmet on the head

_ Accompaniment of a third person (moto, VTT, by walk)

_ Shortcut with possibility of coming back to conformity

_ Food supplies out of an aid station

_ Running topless

_ Absence of start number or damaged start number

_ Bad position of the start number

_ Equipment not in conformity

_ Dress not in conformity: opened tri function, lowered shoulder strap…

_ Presence of a distinctive mark

_ Use MP3, mobile phone, radio

· Getting Out of the race and/or Non-classified WITHOUT presentation of a red card
_ Loss or absence of race number
_ The athlete has been penalized more than two “black card”
_ The athlete has not made his penalties

2. No protest is allowed against a marshal’s disqualification decision.

ATTENTION: The race marshals are instructed to punish any irregularity at once

Procedure warning / time penalty

1. The referee drives up to the athlete, makes eye contact with the athlete and calls his number in French and English. The number is called out as a double-digit number, e.g. 2134 will be called as „21“ – „34“, or as a single digit and double digit number, e.g. 954 will be called as “9”-“54”. The card (red, black, yellow) is shown accordingly. When an athlete receives a red or black card, he must approach the next penalty box.

• · If the athlete receives a black card, he must stay 6 minutes in the penalty box, time measurement by computer.
• · If the athlete receives a red card, he is directly disqualified.
• · Receiving more than two black cards results in immediate disqualification.

 

2. It is in the athlete’s own responsibility to approach the next penalty box and effectuate his penalty. If he fails to do so:

• · If he misses a penalty box 1 time he will have a 10 minutes penalty.
• · If he misses a penalty box twice he will be disqualified.

 

3. If an athlete receives a time penalty on the run course, the Stop & Go-Rule will apply.

This means the referee demands the athlete to come to a complete stop, points out the violation of rules to him. The athlete may then continue the race.

4. In case an athlete is disqualified on the bike course, it will be communicated directly from the penalty box on the course to the penalty box in the transition Bike/Run.

Disqualifications

All disqualifications will be announced on an Info-Board at the Bike Check-Out and/or at the

Information Desk and/or in other highly visible and accessible locations.

Court of arbitration

1. Those persons directly affected by a sanction have the right to file a protest. It is possible to file a protest against a disqualification, an immediate disqualification or the official race results. The protest may only be filed on the ground that there has been an infringement of rules by the judges panel but not that the actual decision (factual decision) by the judges panel is incorrect.

2. The protest (which must be deposit the next day before 9.30 am, at the organization office) must be filed in English or French and must name the reason for the protest upon payment of 50 € (cash). If the protest is granted, the payment will be returned.

3. In order to determine the final race results, there will be a session of court of arbitration the day after the race before 12.00 am. Venue is the organizations office. The court of arbitration consist of the following persons:

• · The race director of the race or a personally named and determined deputy person.
• · The Head of Referee of the race or a personally named and determined deputy person.
• · A person with the qualification of a judge or similar juridical education.

 

4. In the hearing before the court of arbitration the affected persons have an adequate amount of time to present their point of view. It is not a public hearing. If necessary and appropriate, witnesses may be heard. On the grounds of the presented statements and the existing documents, the court of arbitration will again consult (privately) and then decide with simple majority. The affected person is to be immediately notified of the decision.

5. The court of arbitration determines the final race results, subject to doping reports still outstanding. The determined results are final. They are not subject to appeal in a court of law.