Leon Chevalier is an athlete who has embraced tough and mountainous courses but he stormed into the limelight at the 2022 IRONMAN World Championships with his superb 7th place in 7:55:52. He had been in 5th place most of the marathon but was caught in the Energy Lab by Magnus Ditlev and Sebastian Kienle, and a bit later by Joe Skipper. But Ditlev fell apart, and Chevalier almost caught Kienle back on the finishing straight.
We had a few words with the fast French athlete who lives in the UK.
Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Leon.
Leon Chevalier: Thank you for having me! It’s a pleasure to be here.
ST: How have you adjusted to returning back to the UK after this Kona high?
Leon: It’s been brilliant being back home! Kona is far away, and I was out there for a long time. On top of that, it’s been a very long and tiring season, with two World Champs and balancing it with the final year of my master’s degree. The last few months of training were particularly tough, and I was ready for the season to be over. But I’m super happy that I pushed through with the support of my little team here at home, and it paid off with a solid result that I can be proud of. Since being back, I’ve mostly been lying on the sofa and taking care of our new little puppy! Planning and training for 2023 can wait a little bit longer.
ST: How much longer?
Leon: I’m giving myself a good 4-6 weeks post-Kona to recharge the batteries and rekindle that love of training!
ST: Just to clarify, you are French but have been in the UK for quite some time now. Can you maybe talk about that move?
Leon: Oui, I’m French indeed! I did however live on Long Island (USA) from age 2 to 7, and after moving back to France, I studied in international schools. I always intended on living abroad.
In 2017, my partner Florrie started studying at the University of Bath and at the time, I was studying in Lyon, France and not particularly pleased with my setup. I visited Florrie a few times that year and was immediately charmed by Bath and its lovely countryside. I was also very impressed by the sporting infrastructure at the University, where a group of elite triathletes (including Susie Cheetham and Vicky Holland) were training. In 2018, I had my first international racing experience on the ITU circuit, and some decent results motivated me to commit more to triathlon. I felt like moving to Bath and joining the set-up there would enable me to make the necessary progress to race at the highest elite level. The University of Bath’s Chemical Engineering department is also one of the best in the country and allowed me to pursue my academic goals alongside triathlon. Four years later, I’ve got two top 10s at world championships (albeit not ITU!) and am a Master of Chemical Engineering; I couldn’t have wished for more!
ST: This was your first Kona race and nor just as a professional I believe. And what you showed in Hawaii was impressive.
Leon: Thanks! Yes, it was my first race here on the island. It’s the one triathlon race that everyone has heard of, and I think a small part of me had always dreamt of coming here. However, it’s only in the last two years that we actually made a conscious decision to move up to long course racing with the goal of being a competitive pro here. I’m happy with my result but not satisfied, which I think bodes well for the next races in Kona!
ST: Much of your bike training prepping for Kona was done indoors. Can you describe your setup at home and how much time you spend there?
Leon: The roads around Bath are narrow country lanes. They go up, down, twist and turn, and the road surface can be rather treacherous. It usually rains most days too. And it’s my favorite place in the world to ride a bike! It’s absolutely stunning and challenges every aspect of a cyclist’s ability. However, it’s just not really that well suited to riding a TT bike unless you stick to a few main roads. Therefore I do a lot of riding on the turbo. It’s just a great tool for consistent pedaling and hitting the target watts without interruption. It’s also a perfect way of getting accustomed to heat and humidity. It requires a lot of will power though, as it can get very challenging. Knowing that it makes me a better rider is what keeps me going back to it. That, and the readily available sweets and cookies!
The set-up is very simple, just my Cervelo P5 on a direct drive turbo trainer and a little 10 £ fan I found on Marketplace, placed in some spare space we have at the bottom of the stairs. I can spend upwards of 15 hours a week on the turbo depending on the phase in the training block.
In the last 4 years I’ve stayed in Bath throughout the academic year as I had to go to lectures and labs – and the training set-up here is very good. Being at home in a solid routine is also a great way of getting consistent training in.
During the summers Florrie and I usually drive around France, staying in the Alps - my other favorite place to ride a bike, and on the Atlantic coast. Training can get a bit more unstructured then, but I get a lot of fitness from riding and running up mountains!
ST: When you say turbo, which specific turbo do you have, and do you use any virtual cycling apps, or do you simply ride?
Leon: I have a Wahoo Kickr Core from 2020 and it works well for me! I have used Zwift a handful of times for meet up rides and races for sponsors and clubs, but otherwise I just ride without it. I have my Garmin to look at the numbers I need to do, and I’ll usually listen to music or a podcast, or watch something on YouTube, GCN+ or BBC iPlayer. Sometimes I just stare at the wall for 5 hours. [laughs]
ST: How early did you arrive in Kona, and did you stay away from the hot spots downtown?
Leon: I arrived on the Thursday evening just over two weeks out from the race. It’s one heck of a long trip from the UK so it was necessary to have plenty of time to recover from that long trip, get used to the air conditioning and the new routine. We stayed in Mauna Lani, which was quite far out, due to the lack of available accommodation in town. It meant that I didn’t quite get to soak in as much of the ‘Kona vibe’ and was a bit trickier to get media commitments organized, but it was great for just focusing on what I had to do and conserving energy.
ST: Talk about your race day.
Leon: I woke up just before 4 am – I usually like to wake up 2 hours before race start but we had a 45 min drive to the pier, so the day started a bit earlier. I had my routine pre-race banana bread and mug of tea and once in Kona, went through the motions until race start (body marking, special needs drop off, pump up tires, set up Garmin, clip in shoes etc.
I thought I had a good swim start, swimming alongside Dave McNamee for a bit, but then my poor swim form this season caught up with me and I had to settle into the bike-runner group with Cam, Joe, Lionel and Sebi. I was looking over my shoulder and it looked like I was the last guy in the water! At least I was in good company for riding through the field.
In the end the gap wasn’t as big as I thought it might be, and after a strong first 25 min on the bike where I was struggling a bit, I settled into a groove on the Queen K and we were already catching stragglers. Unfortunately, I had to serve a 1-minute penalty in Mauna Lani but the exact reason why wasn’t communicated to me. I felt fast on the bike and managed to bridge back up to my group before the end of the drag up to Hawi. At the turnaround, I was 9th on the road and feeling strong. The sight of 10 motorbikes surrounding the first 5 guys was disappointing, however I knew that I was riding faster than them up to that point, so my motivation stayed intact.
We cruised down Hawi, and as we took the little climb back up to the Queen K, I put in a dig to split our group which was still a bit too big to my liking. The ride back into town was very fast, and I focused on riding easy to save some for the marathon rather than push on.
Onto the run I was in 5th position, and as was the plan for the day, set off conservatively with the goal of securing a top 10. If things went my way, I could still have hoped for top 5 or even a podium, but on my way towards the Energy Lab I was slowing down and realizing that I’d have to fight for that top 10. I had a very strong last 6 km and almost caught Sebi on the line…
7th place, fastest IM for me, and the feeling that there’s a lot I can improve on. It’s left me both relieved and happy after that 6th place in St George, yet hungry for the next one!
ST: Tell us more about your bike and how it is set up? (
Leon: I ride a 2022 Cervélo P5, size 54 (I’m 181 cm). It’s set up with Shimano Dura-Ace 12 speed; I was running a 1x chainring from Pyramid Cycling (58 teeth) on Rotor 2in Power cranks and Shimano Ultegra 11-34 cassette. I had the Aero OSPW and 12 speed KMC UFO chain from Ceramic Speed. I had a chain drop coming down Palani but was able to guide the chain back on with my hands whilst on the go, so didn’t lose much time. I rode the Hed Vanquish V6 at the front, and Hed Jet 180 at the back. Both were setup with GP5000 S TR in 28mm. The saddle is from ISM, the arm pads from Radsport Ibert, and my coach (Rob Cheetham) customized the Cervelo stock extensions by adding a bit of length to them at the shifter end.
ST: What were you using during the run in terms of shoes?
Leon: On the run I used a prototype from Hoka.
ST: What did you do after the race? Was there time for a little vacation?
Leon: I flew straight back home on the Monday – I had a lovely 5-hour nap on a carpeted floor in brand new Terminal 3 in LAX before a KFC in Terminal B. On the flight back to London I managed to get through a 10 oz share pack of M&Ms. Before I knew it, it was Wednesday and I was back home. On the Thursday we picked up our new Labrador puppy and it’s been full on dog training since! It’s been a very difficult year trying to pull everything off concomitantly, and I really needed a break from triathlon, especially mentally. So t’s been great to take a step back, relax, and enjoy ‘normal’ life!
ST: This summer you won the Alpe D’Huez Triathlon, and that hilly, technical racing is seemingly more your cup of tea. Is that fair to say?
Leon: That would definitely be fair to say! Hilly, dare I say mountainous and technical is the type of riding I like most. I’m a cycling fan at heart, and years of watching the Tour de France growing up has shaped my love for cycling that goes beyond pushing power on a straight road. I wish the big races made use of topography and side roads a bit more.
There’s a lot of talk about the draft zone, how it should be pushed up to 20 m… A tricky course adds that extra dynamic to the race, where crafty cyclists can break up groups. At Alpe d’Huez Triathlon, the draft zone is 5 m. When you’re going up the Alpe and you’re cooked, there’s nothing that can save you! That’s why the gaps can be so big.
I was also in a position at the start of my career where I absolutely needed to choose races that would suit me to the tee, to build up my profile and rack up a bit of prize money to pay for my student fees. Now I’ll foray into those flatter races, with the confidence from Kona that I can also do well on more benign courses.
ST: You finished 6th in St. George and that is maybe the first time many in North America and in places outside of Europe saw you in action or heard your name. And now you are certainly in the limelight. But which race do you really treasure the most up to this point?
Leon: The triathlon scene in Europe is congested with talent. There’s a lot of races and a lot of fast people, and it can be very tricky to rise above the crop. It’s a great learning experience but it also makes it so much harder when you are just starting out. You have to learn fast.
Ironman Mallorca last year was a great example: that start list was stacked. Winning that race ahead of some very strong guys, after riding away with Cam Wurf… it showed me that I could actually compete with the best in the world, and that there weren’t that many people out there who could keep up with me on the bike.
ST: Is there anything else we should know?
Leon: As you said, not that many people know of me or know me that well. I basically started training with a professional mindset at the end of 2020 when Rob and Susie Cheetham took me on some sort of apprentice scheme. The goal was to qualify for Kona 2022.
It was the first time that I was training consistently over 25 hours a week, with a coherent structure and clearly defined goals. I’m competing against guys who have been doing this for 5, 10, 15 years, so I can’t expect to be at that level quite yet.
I’ve finished my studies now and I think that will also affect my training and racing positively. I just need to give time some time!
Anyways, thank you for having me and giving me this opportunity. Hopefully I’ve not rambled on too much!
Image 1 © Aaron Palaian
Image 3 courtesy Leon Chevalier
Image 2 and 5 © Brian Glynn
Image 4 and 6 © Korupt Vision
