The Challenge Vichy took place for the first time in 2011 and followed the Challenge Niederbronn-les-Bains from 2008 to 2010 as the second Challenge Family competition on French soil . The American Amy Marsh and the British Stephen Bayliss won the first edition .
In 2012, the route was shortened and held as a half-distance competition in order to avoid health risks for the athletes due to the high temperatures on the race weekend. In 2013, Challenge Vichy was the venue for the ETU - Long Distance European Championship , where German Diana Riesler and Croat Andrej Vištica won.
In addition to the Challenge Vichy over the long distance (3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.195 km running) there were also competitions over the middle distance and the Olympic distance (1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running) .
The swimming distance of 3.8 km went over two laps on the Allier river dammed up to Lac d' Allier in the area of Parc Omnisports .
The 180 km bike course led from Vichy on a circular route to the south. The route ran counter-clockwise through the towns of Serbannes , Bas et Lezat , Sardon , Pagnant , Limons and Hauterive and had to be completed twice. There are 379 meters of altitude to overcome on each lap.
The running route over the marathon distance was in Vichy along the Allier . It was a 10.5 km lap that had to be completed four times. It led from the transition area in Parc Omnisports to the south on the left bank of the river, crossed the river at the Pont de Bellerive and continued along the river in Parc Kennedy to the turning point. From there, the athletes ran north through the Parc Napoleon III , over a loop into the city center through the Parc de Sources (spring park) and over the Pont de l'Europe back to the Parc Omnisports.
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