Erica Budd

How to Use This Guide

This is a guide—not something you need to memorize or execute perfectly. Race day will include changing terrain, traffic, wind, water conditions and physical sensations. The objective is not to force the race to match this document. It is to keep making good decisions as the race unfolds.

Race Strategy at a Glance

Swim: Start easier than you believe you need to. The first 10 minutes are about control, breathing and becoming comfortable. Once settled, you can become more tactical.

Bike: Use broad power ranges. Let the numbers cluster in the appropriate areas over time. Climb mostly seated and descend entirely within your own ability.

Run: Start conservatively enough to create a stronger second half. Do not force pace through impatience. If the foot and ankle remain stable and mechanics are normal, race late.

Primary Race Anchors

Your Control System

Power and pace describe output. Heart rate and RPE describe the cost. Terrain and conditions influence the relationship. Look for the pattern among output, HR, RPE, mechanics, terrain and conditions.

The Entire Range Is the Target

Every value within a prescribed range represents successful execution. The top is not the real target, is not better than the middle or bottom, and does not earn extra credit.

• The bottom of the range is successful execution.
• The middle is successful execution.
• The top is successful only when terrain and cost support it.
• Going above the range is not better execution.
• Being below briefly does not mean the race is going poorly.

Do not treat a range as a ladder you are expected to climb. Allow numbers to move naturally across the full range and assess where they cluster over time.

Look for the pattern, not the point.

Swim Execution

Race Week

Get into the Mediterranean whenever practical, including the official practice swim. These can be short familiarity sessions. Feel the water, experience its movement and visibility, and practice beginning calmly. The purpose is to remove novelty, not accumulate volume.

Before the Start

Use a short dry-land activation and breathing routine, but do not let it pull you into a hard start. Self-seed conservatively. Expect some passing and accept it in advance. You will start with your age group; use that to make the environment feel more manageable.

First 10 Minutes

Begin around 75% effort. Control your breathing, find clear water and let the environment become familiar. Do not evaluate pace or position. Swimming independently is completely acceptable.

Stay easy. Establish control. Give it time.

After Approximately 500 m

If calm and confident, gradually build toward normal race effort. Use helpful feet if they appear naturally, but do not chase a group or preserve feet at the cost of calm.

If Anxiety Rises

1. Reduce effort immediately.
2. Concentrate on a complete exhale.
3. Use breaststroke briefly if you need orientation or control.
4. Return to easy freestyle.
5. Count 50 alternating arm entries.
6. Make no decision about the race until the count is complete.

T1

Leave the swim behind when you exit the water. There is nothing to analyze. Orient yourself, complete each task once, mount safely and begin the next part of the race.

That section is complete. Start the next one well.

Bike: The Big Picture

Mapped course: 93.3 km / 58 mi · 1,247 m / 4,090 ft of climbing

The official guide also uses 90 km/56 mi in its general description; this plan follows the detailed map and profile distance of 93.3 km/58 mi.

This is not a steady-state course. Establish gradually, fuel early, climb mostly seated, allow reasonable grade-driven variation, release power when speed comes easily, descend safely and re-establish useful pressure on the return.

Begin each section wherever within the range the terrain and physiological cost naturally place you. Do not automatically work toward the upper limit. If 178 W is appropriate within a 175–195 W range, riding 195 W is not an improvement; it is simply a higher cost.

Bike Rust Protocol

Because the taper has been managed well, early flatness may simply be rust. Establish normally first. If the legs remain flat while HR and RPE are normal, use a small number of short, purposeful accelerations in a safe, uncrowded section. Return immediately to normal output and reassess.

If the legs wake up, return to the plan; the response does not raise the ceiling. If they remain flat, temporarily ride below the range and let them come around. If normal power produces unusually high HR or RPE, do not assume rust and force it.

Bike: Section by Section

0–10.2 km / 0–6.3 mi
Exit Nice and Establish

150–170 W. Begin calmly, let breathing and legs settle, fuel early and respect the narrow no-overtaking section near km 4.

Settle into the day.

10.2–15.2 km / 6.3–9.4 mi
Montée des Pugets

Controlled terrain: 170–195 W · Short steep pitches: 195–215 W · Brief ceiling: ~220 W. Climb mostly seated. Stand briefly for cadence or position, then sit before it becomes sustained grinding. Release when the grade breaks.

Brief pressure, then release.

15.2–26.6 km / 9.4–16.5 mi
Build to Vence

160–180 W. Re-establish controlled rhythm, fuel and drink, and prepare for the sustained climb. Do not make up time here.

Fuel and prepare.

26.6–36.3 km / 16.5–22.6 mi
Col de Vence

Sustained: 175–195 W · Steeper portions: 195–210 W · Brief ceiling: ~220 W. Settle rather than attack. Ride mostly seated, keep standing short, let power move with gradient, and reduce output if the range becomes unusually expensive by HR or RPE.

Smooth, seated, sustainable.

36.3–44 km / 22.6–27.3 mi
Summit to Coursegoules

Release climbing power, let speed return, fuel where safe and prepare for the descent. Around km 42, stay right through the sharp turn and narrow Coursegoules Bridge lane; do not cross the white line.

Release and prepare.

44–57 km / 27.3–35.4 mi
Upper Technical Descent

No power target. The official guide identifies deceptive corners and potentially poor surfaces. Move your hips back as needed, feather the brakes and slow before corners. Follow your line, not another athlete's. Do not fuel when it compromises control. Ignore average and normalized power.

Your line. Your speed. Your race.

57–75.5 km / 35.4–46.9 mi
Brief Rise and Continued Descent

Brief rise: 170–195 W. Re-engage smoothly around km 57, assess intake, then continue descending within your comfort. Fuel only on safe sections.

Re-engage, then stay safe.

75.5–93.3 km / 46.9–58 mi
Flat Return to Nice

155–175 W. Re-establish useful pressure gradually. Do not chase power lost on the descent. Fuel, prepare to run and respect the narrow no-overtaking return section.

Bring the run to T2.

T2

Move calmly and complete each task once. Do not use the first steps of the run to assess the day. Give your body time to change from cycling to running.

Start the run you want to finish.

Run: The Big Picture

21.1 km / 13.1 mi · 123 m / 404 ft gain · low-amplitude rolling · two loops

The opening must be patient. The early range is intentionally wide, and there is no preference for its faster end. Within 9:30–9:00/mi, 9:30 is not falling short and 9:00 is not winning the range.

Do not move faster simply because the faster number is available. Allow pace to improve only when HR, RPE, mechanics and conditions support it.

Run: Section by Section

Opening 2 mi
Establish

9:30–9:00/mi. There is no preference for 9:00. Organize your mechanics, let athletes go, and notice the foot and ankle without searching for a problem.

Patient now. Stronger later.

Complete first outbound
Let the Pace Develop

Gradually toward 9:00–8:40/mi when supported. Do not force the transition. Read wind, rollers, HR, RPE and mechanics together.

Let the pace come to you.

First return
Settle

Approximately 8:55–8:40/mi when supported. Establish a sustainable rhythm. Do not demand identical pace in both directions or correct one slower mile.

Sustainable and repeatable.

Second outbound
Assess

Check the foot and ankle, mechanics, HR and RPE. Hold or progress only when those signals align. Do not force pace through impatience.

Earn the progression.

Final return
Race What Remains

If the foot and ankle remain stable and mechanics are normal, race what remains. There is no required pace. If pain increases or stride changes, reduce effort immediately and do not test it with another acceleration.

Stable and strong—then race.

Fueling, Hydration and Cooling

Your system is practiced. Begin fueling early and front-load carbohydrate before the technical descent. Use the approach and sustained climbing to stay ahead. Fuel on the descent only when safe; control comes first.

The on-course electrolyte drink is not your carbohydrate source. Run carbohydrate must come from gels or another planned source. Begin cooling before overheating is obvious when conditions warrant it.

Race-Day Decision Rules

A Number Falls Outside the Range

Do not correct it immediately. Identify terrain and conditions, check HR and RPE, and act only when multiple signals support a change.

HR Is Higher Than Expected

Check output, RPE, temperature, sun, wind and hydration. Modest drift is information. Rising HR plus rising RPE at the same or declining output is a reason to reduce effort.

Pace Is Slower Than Expected

Check wind, terrain, effort and mechanics. Do not force the watch back into range.

The Foot or Ankle Is Noticeable

Stable discomfort with normal mechanics: monitor and remain controlled. Increasing pain or altered mechanics: reduce effort immediately. Do not accelerate to test it.

The Race Differs From the Plan

Adjust to the race that is here.

Championship Mental Execution

No individual split, power reading, pace or position needs an immediate interpretation.

No In-Race Grading

Ask: What is happening right now? Is there an actual problem requiring action? What is the next useful decision?

You do not need to manufacture positivity. Keep your internal language useful.

Quick-Reference Race Card

Read every listed range from beginning to end. The first number is not a minimum acceptable result, and the final number is not the preferred target. Choose the part that fits the terrain, conditions and physical cost.