Following a brilliant season where he clinched a maiden win at the World Triathlon Long Distance Championship, Clement Mignon is eyeing even more success in 2024.
The 25-year-old French star, who this season has joined forces with the BMC Pro Team, was also recently announced as one of the contracted athletes for the T100 Triathlon World Tour.
Speaking with TRI247, Mignon shared his goals and ambitions for the year, and why consistency will be of paramount importance as he looks to bridge the gap to the world’s best.
Ready to race after much needed break
After not finishing his final race of the season at IRONMAN Portugal in 2023, Mignon said that he took a much needed mental and physical break from training before beginning preparations for this year.
![Clement Mignon wins Long Distance World Champs Ibiza 2023 Benito Trautman [Photo credit: World Triathlon]](https://www.tri247.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Clement-Mignon-wins-Long-Distance-World-Champs-Ibiza-2023-Benito-Trautman.jpg)
“Right now, I am happy with my winter training. I returned back to training at the beginning of November, following three weeks off. My body and my mind really needed the break following the 2023 season.”
As well as a chance to refresh, his time off allowed Mignon to put some plans in place for a successful season, with his new training environment at Team BMC playing a big part in what he hopes will be his best year yet.
“One of the big things for 2024 is the fact that I am now part of the BMC Team. It’s a team which is very professional and that is something I have needed to continue to improve.
“Bob [De Wolf] and Ben [De Wolf] are always present for athletes on all subjects, be it nutrition, materials, logistics or physio.”
Having just spent some time with his teammates and support staff for the first time, Mignon said that it is clear the setup is a perfect environment for the athletes.
“I have just come back from two weeks with the team on a training camp in Lanzarote. It was really nice to meet the other athletes and also all the staff. The team is really here for the athletes performance.”
“The main goal for 2024 is Kona qualification”
Discussing his goals for the season, the Aix-en-Provence native said that he is ready to perform on the Big Island of Hawai’i, with qualifying for the IRONMAN World Championship his main priority.
“The main goal for 2024 is to qualify for Kona and to be at 100 percent at the IRONMAN World Championship.
“I want to take revenge for 2022 where I finished my first Kona (second ever IRONMAN) in ninth place after serving a 5 minute penalty.”
Mignon said that his objectives for the first half of the year would be Kona qualification and the first events of the T100 Tour, before focusing on Kona during the latter stages of the season.
“During the first part of season, I will be focusing on the T100 Tour and qualification for Kona. After that, it will be back to the T100 during the season and then in particular Kona for the last part of the year.”
Chasing consistency across the board
Last year, Mignon’s season was a rollercoaster, with his best races yielding three wins and a 10th place at the IRONMAN World Championship, whilst his off days saw him not finish four races including the PTO Tour US Open.
Admitting he struggled mentally at times during the season, the Frenchman said that he believes he needs a lot of freedom to perform at his best, something he wasn’t getting enough of last year.
“I had too many DNF’s in 2023. I was not good mentally as I had changed coach and it was a new method.
“Kasper [Pedersen] was a good coach and especially a nice person, but his method is not for me. I think it’s difficult to train me because I need lots of liberty to perform.”
Hopefully this year, under the guidance of De Wolf and the rest of the BMC Pro Team, we will see the best version of Mignon at every start line, especially in Kona.
