Ironman Worlds: “If nothing else I’ll have a lovely day out on my bike,” says GB’s India Lee

When India Lee lined up at Ironman Florida last November the prime objective wasn’t to qualify for this weekend’s showdown in Nice, but to help boost her PTO ranking enough to secure a lucrative contract for the new T100 Series that would shortly be announced.

Second place on the day behind an exceptional Skye Moench ticked both boxes: Ironman World Championship qualification secured more than 10 months out and enough points to ultimately guarantee a place in the 100km series at which Lee has excelled.

With Ironman launching its own Pro Series and more opportunities to race and earn money than ever before, professional triathletes have felt like kids in candy stores in 2024. But avoiding the risk of over-racing, Lee has remained steadfast in her commitment to the T100. Until now.

“I would’ve been spreading myself too thin,” she says, as she prepares for a sixth race of the year and first long distance event. “We’re still only halfway through the PTO series, and a lot can happen. But I also wanted to do this race properly and had I raced two Ironmans already, for example, I wouldn’t have been in that position.”

The plan has worked well to date. A win in the first T100 race in Miami was complemented by eighth place in the San Francisco T100 and ninth in London T100 to leave her ranked second in the overall series and knowing that whatever happens from here she’ll go to the Grand Final in Dubai in November with a shot at the world title.

First though, there’s the busman’s holiday of a first Ironman World Championship in what will be only her third attempt at the distance.

“I forgot Ironman existed,” Lee jokes from her base in Nice, having spent the past few weeks training at altitude in Font-Romeu in France, much of it with fellow GB pro Ruth Astle. “It’s come around a lot quicker than I thought it would, but I’m in too deep, have come too far, and it’s too late to back out now anyway!”

Respecting the opportunity

Lee, 36, is in relaxed mood ahead of the test on the French Riviera, the second time the women’s event has been taken away from the Big Island of Hawaii after St George in Utah was used in 2022 following the pandemic.

But while there’s been a focus on the middle distance (Lee has raced all four T100 races thus far as well as retaining her title at Challenge Championship in Slovakia), she was always going to respect this opportunity.

“I’ve got this thing in my head that as pro athletes, if we qualify for a world championship, we should turn up,” she explains. “We’re pros, why wouldn’t we want to race at the highest level?!”

There’s no doubting the calibre of the opposition. Lee agrees that the leading contenders should be reigning champion Lucy Charles-Barclay, former winners Anne Haug and Chelsea Sodaro, plus Laura Philipp and GB’s Kat Matthews.

Outside of those five and on a new course with a field of close to 50 pro women, anyone could make a name for themselves – particularly if they can handle a pushbike.

“I feel pretty good, training has gone well, I’ve plenty of mates flying in for the weekend to watch and now I just need to get my head around a long day out,” Lee says. “I know I have the fitness to do well. I just need to be able to keep my head to fulfil it.”

Playing to strengths

While Lee was a short-course European champion in 2016 and successfully stepped up to non-drafting racing in 2018, it was only in 2022 that she raced Ironman Israel – “not incredibly seriously, but loved it, in a weird way” – before a highly competitive 8:31 finish in Florida in November.

“Lots of people have done a lot of the Ironman Pro Series races and know where they’re at, but I have no idea,” she adds. “I genuinely don’t have any expectations. I don’t like setting goals because if they don’t happen I don’t want it to be an opportunity for a head wobble. I like to go with the flow and give my best in any situation.”

While not a standout favourite to win in Miami in March, the success on the Homestead-Miami Speedway, topping an all-British podium with the fastest bike and run splits, wasn’t a shock for anyone who had followed the Windsor athlete’s steady progress as a regular podium contender since winning Ironman 70.3 Weymouth in 2018.

“The biggest thing this year is that I haven’t talked myself out of it before I’ve got to a race,” she says. “I’ve been able to maximise on almost every race.”

In many ways Nice should play to Lee’s strengths. The spectacular one-loop bike course is not entirely unfamiliar having raced the Ironman 70.3 worlds here in 2019 and finished third behind Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig in the 2021 Ironman 70.3.

And while her major strength is being a solid all-around triathlete, ranked No 4 cyclist in the PTO rankings suggest the bike course with more than 8,500ft of ascent should play in her favour.


“The bike course is so tough and is going to split up quite a bit, I don’t have to worry about missing a pack [out of the swim],” she adds. “I love riding up mountains, and the majority of course is mountains, so if nothing else, I’ll have a lovely day out on my bike.”