TSP15: The 1986 Triathlon International de Paris

I’m not going to break the 4th wall and talk about modern triathlon very often. But I am still a very active racer. Prioritising short and low-key events near Munich. Although last year I also did a few triathlon-themed road trips. To Hamburg, Berlin and a two-race swing to the UK.

I also like to watch triathlon broadcasts with my kids. PTO. Super League. WTCS. And Ironman. So of course. A couple of weeks ago I was pretty psyched to see what happened at the Olympic Test Event in Paris. 

However, to be honest, I do think Olympic qualifying is too long and complicated. Especially for the fans. So eventually I kind of lose interest. Especially when I know that some places are won and lost via internal politics rather than just gun to taping.

Triathloning isn’t new to downtown Paris. The first Paris Triathlon took place on 13th september 1986. And the Triathlon Hauts de Seine at Isle de Puteaux was earlier in the 1986 season. Mark Allen ended up doing that race a few times. Blog posts about that coming soon.  

There were also ITU World Cup races in 1991 and 1996. And a few French Grand Prix events. I’ll cover all of those triathlons in the future.

The 1st Triathlon International de Paris was announced in the July 1986 issue of Tri-Athlete. The race was to be organised by CONADET, the French triathlon federation, and an events company called Sport-Leader. They also had a big, big sponsor onboard. Edouard LeClerc supermarkets.

The French triathlon scene was buzzing at the time. The federation boasted 4000 members, 130 clubs and 120 races. Up from about 75 in 1985.

There was also a new and exciting way of crowning the French champions at the end of the season. I’ll talk about that in an upcoming podcast about the French Grand Prix. Spoiler alert. It was super-complicated.

The Le Coq Sportif-Arena series, that was the de-facto French championship in 1985, had now gone European-wide. Even though French towns hosted 10 out of the 14 rounds. This meant that plenty of solid foreign athletes were starting to race in France. More on this in future posts.

The Paris organisers were expecting more entries than they could give places to. So to qualify you had to finish in the top 3 of any Olympic Distance race before 14th September. Women had to win one.

The September issue of Tri-Athlete confirmed that the telelvision channel TF1 would cover the start and finish. And there would be a waiting list published in case there were any drop-outs.

All athletes received a tri-suit the day before the race. This had to be worn during event! To make sure race sponsors would appear on every athlete. In case competitors cut or folded their race numbers.

The press pack had maps of the course. Below. The swim went downstream from the Pont de la Concorde to the Pont Iena. Level with the Eiffel Tower. The 2023 Olympic Test-Event course did loops kind of in the middle of this.

In 1986 there were no loops on the bike either. The course went out of town, to Versailles and back on some pretty rolling roads. The run was also a one-lapper. Staying next the river. And the finish was outside the Trocadero Palace. Across La Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

Images: Tri-Athlete (FR) Octobre 1986

There was no big report in Tri-Athlete (FR). Just an image of the start and the results. Above. The women’s winner was Irma Zwartkruis from the Netherlands. With Chantal Malherbe from France in second.

Men’s winner Serge Lecrique was one of the top French triathletes of the late-80s and early-90s. He sadly died in a motorbike accident in 1996.

2nd place Gregoire Millet was the British Triathlon Performance Director for a time. And Georges Belaubre in 3rd was kind of the French Dave Scott.

Axel Koenders led the bike ride before losing most of his advantage due to a puncture. He was riding a standard low-pro with drop bars and a disc wheel. Even though he was already known for experimenting with some extreme frame-fairings. More on that in a later blog post.

Image: Triathlete (USA) February 1987

The February 1987 issue of Triathlete (USA) did run a report though. Above. It was written by Erik Kirschbaum. Co-author, with Aleck Hunter, of one of the best triathlon books ever. Triathlon: The Sporting Trinity. Below.

Let’s finish with a pollution take. As it’s topical. From Georges Belaubre at the end of the race video above. “I was a bit scared about the water in La Seine. But I found that it wasn’t worse than the Le Rhone (in Lyon for La Coupe de France the week before). In Paris La Seine is not that dirty. Further downstream in Rouen its probably dirtier. But in Paris its OK. We’ll see. I hope I won’t be in bed sick tomorrow!”

Links:

Triathlon: The Sporting Trinity by Aleck Hunter and Erik Kirschbaum
1986 Triathlon International de Paris Press Pack

Sources:

Tri-Athlete (FR) Mai 1987
Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1985
Tri-Athlete (FR) Mai 1986
Tri-Athlete (FR) Juin 1986
Tri-Athlete (FR) July 1986
Tri-Athlete (FR) Septembre 1986
Tri-Athlete (FR) Juillet 1992
Triathlete (USA) February 1987
ITU Triathlon World Cup