During the 15th edition, she surprised us with her huge smile and her top 10 in the L Triathlon (first age group). We wanted to find out more about Léa Riccoboni, a ” home-grown ” triathlete full of surprises. Another encounter at the top!
I am 27 years old. I am a native of Bourg d’Oisans. My family has been living there for nearly 30 years. Both my parents work in Alpe d’Huez and are very involved in the life of the station. Until 2021, I was a Business Advisor in a company similar to Groupon in Panama where I lived since 2018. I have just moved to Chile and have decided to dedicate myself to sport.
At the moment, I don’t intend to become a professional. I still have little experience as a triathlete (2 years and a half) and I would like to discover the full distance (Full Ironman) as a GA. In South America it is also easier to take advantage of the social networks that work a little differently for a GA to find support.
I realise that I was more suited to cross-country skiing than to alpine skiing!
Sport started very early for me and I have always been very competitive. I walked at 9 months and at 18 months my dad put me on skis. My discipline was special slalom and I joined the Villard-de-Lans “Pôle Espoir” at the age of 15. At 17, due to the lack of progress, I decided to concentrate fully on my studies. I still became a ski instructor: it was also a way to maintain my link with Alpe d’Huez, in a way. After a preparatory class in Grenoble, I went to study at the SKEMA Business School in Lille. I started to run, all by myself. It became my way of being alone and escaping. I ended up signing up for the Beaunes half-marathon, my first running competition. Looking back, I realise that I was more suited to cross-country skiing than to alpine skiing!
Between my two years of Masters, during my “Gap Year”, I did an internship at Adidas in Germany and then in Panama. I met my current partner there. I came back to Europe to finish my Master’s degree and in 2018, I returned to Panama to settle down with Luis. When I joined Adidas, my passion for running grew. I had a blast. In Panama, I joined the Adidas Runners group. It’s a small country, but with a good sports culture. Luis, who was a big cycling fan, ended up offering me to take part in a 120km cycling race, “Ocean to Ocean”, which links the Atlantic to the Pacific. I accepted, but basically I didn’t like cycling at all! I’ve never liked it, which is ironic, coming from Bourg d’Oisans. He found me a bike but with automatic pedals and I took part with normal shoes! I progressed quickly and then at the beginning of 2019, he asked me if I could swim. This is how I discovered triathlon, and the addiction was immediate. The first big goal was the Ironman 70.3 in Cartagena. Two months before, we decided to join a triathlon team, with a coach… a real breakthrough. I finished in 5h02, in 3rd place in my 25-29 group, in very bad shape and completely dehydrated. But I got my slot for the Worlds champs in Taupo (New Zealand). That’s when the pandemic exploded.
In Panama, we were subjected to one of the toughest lockdowns in the world. We were locked up for seven months. Fortunately, there was Zwift! It saved my life. I took part in virtual races but I also discovered how to use the watts. Another good thing about this situation was that I was able to develop my profile on social networks. When I came out of confinement, I joined a cycling team with which we won the Tour of Panama. That’s when I realised I was a good climber!
In fact, during my preparation for the Ironman 70.3 in Saint George, I changed my coach. In my planning, I decided to integrate the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon, which had always seemed to me a completely inaccessible race. We signed up late with Luis, in March. I remember when I announced my participation to all my family. I was very happy. Before coming to France, I climbed the Alto de Letras, in Colombia, an 80km pass with more than 3800 meters of positive difference in altitude, and I took part in a 160km mountain bike challenge in Peru with 3200 meters of positive difference in altitude. In other words, I was prepared!
The race went really well. I wanted my family and friends to attend and discover me as a triathlete. The event turned into a family reunion! My two grandmothers came. We were in Bourg d’Oisans in training camp mode, everyone was taking care of us. We were afraid to swim because of the temperature of the water. For the record, it was my first race with a wetsuit. In Panama, I had tested it in the pool but the heat was unbearable. I came out of the water in 12th place, so it was a good start.
I decided to use a road bike with aero bars. I tried to stay focused on the watts and my cadence. I was very diligent in managing my nutrition, eating solids regularly. Everything went well until the Alpe d’Huez. Then it became very hard. It was only the third time I had cycled up the 21 bends! Mentally, it was complicated. When you know a course very well, it can be positive for the management of the effort, but you also know perfectly well what you have to climb. It was the hardest moment but also perhaps the most beautiful. The arrival in the station was very emotional with all the cheering, but I couldn’t wait to get off the bike. I exploded with joy in T2.
On the run, we never got to pass each other with Luis. It was frustrating. But there was a lot of cheering on the course! I tackled the descents quite well. In fact, to help me mentally, I had set km 16 as the mental finish, before the final descent.
In conclusion, I would say that this was the most difficult race of all the races I have participated in, but also the most beautiful!
I will! But it’s a long way from Santiago de Chile. For the moment, I’m still progressing. Two months after Alpe d’Huez, I finished 3rd in my 25-29 los category of the 70.3 World Championships in Saint George and I especially made the difference on the bike. My experience at L’Alpe certainly contributed to this! Recently, I won the Ironman 70.3 Panama in 4H33, and my next dream is to qualify for Kona in 2023…