Embrunman 2020: Joe will not skip the race

We asked some questions to Joe Skipper before his next race at Embrunman on August 15.

Hi mate, thank you for your time , we really appreciate
I reckon it came to a surprise to see you on the starting list of Embrunman but given the current state of affair on the calendar and the good money on offer I think it’s a good move.

– 2019 was full of great results for you but to me your blistering 7:46 in Florida with a 2:39 on the back of a 4:05 bike must be one of the very best bike/run combo we’ve ever saw. How did you pulled out from that performance ?


I was fine after that performance, went on holiday with my girlfriend and had a bit of time off before starting back in training at the start of December.

– Now more specifically about Embrunman:
Was it a race that was always on your radar or did you jump on it mostly because it’s the first big show since IM New Zealand?


Yeah Embrunman has always been a race I’ve wanted to do but it’s hard to fit it in normally when targeting Kona but with everything that’s happened this year I think this is the perfect opportunity to race it.

– Correct me if I am wrong but we haven’t seen you race much in France in the past any specific reason like cheese allergy or is that just the way your racing season was built?

I don’t know why I haven’t raced much in France as I have been over there lots of times to train and have really enjoyed it. I guess it’s just not worked out with timings etc.

– You know Embrunman involves a fair bit of climbing on the bike , there is no question about your abilities to ride fast on regular course on your TT bike but how did you change your race approach for this specific race given you are going to spend around 90 minutes more on the horse?

Well I haven’t actually changed my training for this race other than doing virtually no swimming due to the pools being closed.

In all seriousness I’m actually travelling out to Embrun this Friday (10th July) to do a recce of the course and see what I’m actually up against. I did a 12 hours TT last year and hadn’t rode over 5.5 hours in the build up to it so being in the bike for 5.5 hours doesn’t bother me at all as I do 5.5 hours pretty much every weekend.

This is also a good opportunity to try another type of course. I have won Ironman UK before which is probably one of the hardest Ironman races on the circuit and if you look at my race in Wales last year I was on for the bike course record until I pictured 130km in but still managed the fastest run split on a very hilly run course that looks to be harder than Embrunman run course.


– This year we are blessed with an incredible high quality start list with 2 distinct kind of Pro’s. We have many IM winner AND the usual French/Spanish regular Embrunman warriors that you may not be used to race at the highest level on the international circuit. Who do you think will be your main competitor for race day?

That’s a tough one, I’ve only had a quick look at the start list but a few names which sprung to mind were Van Lierde, Costes, Romain Guillaume, and I did notice that Brice Feillu is racing which is interesting as I remember watching him win a Tour stage that finished in Andorra. There’s also lots of other strong guys that are racing and like you say some of them specialized in races like this. I expect them to be very hard to beat.

– You are quite a big unit and big boys like you are usually not well known to climb like skinny Colombian. Did you lose 20 pounds or just putting all your money on big British power?

I haven’t lost anything mate but if you are skinny with no engine you aren’t going to be going quick up the hills anyway! I’ll have to rely on big British power, good bike handling skills and a desire to suffer more than anyone else in order to get the win!

– Are you going TT bike or roadie + extension? And what gearing/wheels are you planning to use?

TT bike, not sure on gears as I haven’t rode the course yet. Regarding wheels I’ve looked at the course and one of my sponsors has looked into the maths and at the moment we think a disc wheel will be faster although this could change after actually riding the course.

– One of the (many) killer part of the bike course is the last 10km when you get back to Embrun town with 178km in your legs and face “Chalvet” climb. It’s 5km steep up followed by a very fast very steep and very technical 5km downhill with gravel, twist and turn, hairpin, potholes and even grass in the middle of the road. Scott Molina declared in the past that he almost lost patience in it and the history book are full of broken dream relating to this part. Have you been working more specifically on technical stuff given the particularity of the bike course?

I do a lot of my easy rides on a gravel bike where I take corners over loose stones at decent speed and weave in and out of trees etc. This really helps, I also think my bike handling is pretty good so I’m not worried about that. The fact that I’ve got disc brakes on my time trial bike I think could offer me a decent advantage over other athletes racing.

– Post Covid Embrunman will be the first world class event and we will see a lot of change in the general organization with less aid station, the need of keeping your distance in transition and when refilling on the bike and run. Things that can be annoying as and AG like waiting in line to get water can mean payday or nothing for you the pro’s. Did it weighted at some point in your decision to race or not?

No absolutely not, I really want to race anyway and Embrunman has been a race I always have wanted to do so it’s great to be able to tick a box. Also it’s the same for everyone with regards to aid stations so it seems fair. I’m just very grateful that the race is going to be going ahead and I’ll be able to enjoy racing again.

– The organization made the choice to have you the pro’s starting last to give enough time to the Ager’s to complete in the allocated time. Swim already being a 2 laps course with some weed patches, darkness and slower swimmer to pass on lap 2 can very well be a bloody mess. Without offence we can say that you are not one of the fastest swimmers out there and given the above the lost time you may face out of the water can be more important how does it impact your strategy early on the bike?

I’ll just aim to ride the bike hard and get off the bike in contention for the win. My strategy will be to get stuck in from the off regardless of how the swim goes. I would also say that although my swim is a weakness, I’ll be faster than a lot of the pros which are on the start list and there will certainly be some big names chasing me down.

– We often see guys riding bike kit and then change for a running outfit for more comfort, are you going to follow that unspoken rule or go your own way?

I’ll go my own way, the DHB kit is comfortable and fast so I wouldn’t swap to any run kit.

– How the course and duration is impacting your nutrition strategy for race day?

Same as I do for any other Ironman but as I’ll probably be on course for 60-90 minutes longer, I’ll probably just need an extra 3-4 gels.


– The run course being a 3 laps course with a nasty climb at the beginning of each lap with some good gravel section and winner running time usually in the 3:05 hours what do you reckon you can run there? I personally bet the house on 2:50/53 ?

I would say I reckon I could do under 2 hours 50, it would take a very hard bike course or I would have to be extremely fatigued to not run under 2h 50.

– Right after Embrunman we have other races kicking in France. Will we have the chance to see you race more in our country?

Yeah I hope so, Nice is on my bucket list as well so I would like to be back for that and would love to be able to give Cam Wurf a lesson in how to race an ironman so maybe you’ll see me there.

– What are you mostly looking at as a take away from Embrunman for the future of your carrier in our beautiful sport?

I would love to win the race so I’ll be looking to take away the trophy with me! ?

Well mate once again thank you for your time , and we are all wishing you all the best come race day and stay safe on the bike.

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