Ironman France Nice and 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun voted best overall Ironman races

Ironman has announced its “Athletes’ Choice Awards winners” and two European events have claimed the “Best Overall Race” titles – Ironman France Nice and Ironman 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun.  The results are based on over 55,000 post-event surveys done after Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races around the world.

“Recognizing standout events among the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 triathlon race series – a series that already focuses on curating unique and challenging athlete experiences – really allows us to acknowledge extra-special elements, as seen through our athletes’ eyes” said Shane Facteau, Chief Operating Officer for The Ironman Group. “The diversity of races recognized through the global and regional Athletes’ Choice Awards is testament to our incredible host environments and communities, as well as our collective team of passionate people, worldwide, working to put on the best races each weekend. It is our hope that the Awards list helps athletes to select races, based on peer recommendations, and be inspired by something new.”

Ironman Cairns took the top full-distance honour in 2022, while Ironman 70.3 Rwanda topped the surveys for the half-distance.

Welcome to Cairns, Ironman’s best event

It’s hardly a surprise that athletes would be drawn to both Nice, France and Zell am See-Kaprun, Austria, as both sites have served as hosts to Ironman world championship events. The Ironman 70.3 World Championship rotation began in Mont-Tremblant in 2014, and the Austrian city hosted the worlds in 2015. Last year served as the inaugural Nice event as Ironman split the full distance world championship between Kona, Hawaii and France.

Here’s the list of the top-five races from each category: