Triathlon du Lac des Sapins

⚠️ The Lac des Sapins Triathlon Cancelled due to Heatwave

There are triathlons that do their job: swim 🏊, ride 🚴, run 🏃, head home 🏡. And then there is the Triathlon du Lac des Sapins, which has been doing its job for 28 editions and, every time, makes you want to come back 🥰. We’re taking you to Cublize, in the heart of the Beaujolais Vert, a region locals have kept under wraps for years. Just an hour drive from Lyon 🚗, another world will open up to you 🌍: a land of forests, of rolling hills, winding roads through the trees 🌲, proudly labeled UNESCO Global Geopark. Need I say more! And at the center of it all, the Lac des Sapins : 40 hectares, 13 meters deep, dug between 1977 and 1979 to revive a region hit by the local industrial crisis, and since then one of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes' most visited nature sites with over 500 000 visitors per year 😮. Not bad for a hole dug into a hill of the Beaujolais. And it’s in this lake 🛶 that you’ll dive headfirst to start your day 🤿.

More precisely, the lake consists of two spaces: a totally classic lake and natural, and a biological swimming pool 💦. Naturally filtered by layers of minerals and depolluting plants 🌿, the water of the biological pool is pure and in June, the summer day ☀️, you should normally not have any complaints. But on your side, it’s in the wide expanse of the lake that you’ll dive headfirst 🤿. It’ll be cool enough to wake up any lingering sleepers 🛌, yet welcoming enough that coming out of the water might feel like a regret 🙃. You’ll then put on your helmet and tackle the bike 🚲, and there, the Beaujolais Vert will show you what it’s got.

The Format M will take you for 1.5 km of swimming, 50 km on a bike on the region’s rolling roads with boosts that wake up the thighs 🦵 and descents that reward the effort 🎁. The Format L is for anyone ready to take on 3 km of swimming and 100 km of cycling. In both formats you’ll enjoy panoramas that make you want to stop for a photo for the feed insta 📸 but you’ve got a clock so you keep going ⏱️. You’ll return to the lake after the bike and lace up for the run 👟. You’ll be in that particular mindset of a transitioning triathlete: between the pride of having ridden and the legitimate question of what your legs will do next 🤪. The run takes place in a natural setting around the lake, between trails and woodland paths 🌳, that will make you forget. 10 km for Format M, 20 km for Format L. The finish line waiting at the water’s edge 🌅, with all you’ve given since morning 🏁. And the best part? You can do these formats in relay. Because doing it alone is fine, but two is better ✌️.

While your legs take the miles 🥵, the organizers make sure the lake absorbs as little as possible 🌿. Indeed, the Triathlon du Lac des Sapins isn’t just held in the nature: it actively respects it ♻️. The organization pays careful attention to its ecological footprint with years of effort: waste reduction of plastics, measured planning of replenishments, participant education on respecting the site... 🌱

Getting the run legs, it would be a real shame to leave without enjoying the area 🤔. Beaujolais Vert is a region of outdoor living where trail runs, mountain bike trails and equestrian rides 🏇 fill miles of preserved nature. That said, after a triathlon, we recommend lounging by the lake 😄. On top of that, this region doesn’t joke around with its gastronomy 🍽️: a cardoon au marrow gratin, a pike quenelle with Nantua sauce that reminds you we’re in the Rhône and not far from Lyon’s grand cuisine 🍽️, all washed down with a Beaujolais Villages served slightly chilled 🍷 (it’s the region, but beware that alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health ⚠️). In short, you’ll be spoiled 😉.

Alright, meet you at the Triathlon du Lac des Sapins or at the Triathlon du Lac des Sapins? Your call! 😇