Jules Dumas, a young, recognized triathlon champion from Montpellier who is struggling to find partners to help him continue his career

Le VTT est le point fort de Jules Dumas. JD

Le triathlète de Montpellier participe la semaine prochaine aux championnats du monde de cross triathlon en Italie en même qu’il cherche des partenaires pour financer ses saisons sportives.

This Thursday at the end of the afternoon, Jules Dumas (22 years old) is getting ready to start one of his two daily sessions. At the Philippidès stadium, he will have to run five times 500m at an average of 20km/h and do it three times.

The Montpellier native is preparing for the final of the Cross Triathlon World Cup (swimming, mountain biking, trail), support for the XTERRA World Championships, which will take place on Thursday 26 and Saturday 28 September in Molveno in the Italian Alps.

The U24 world (2023) and European (2024) champion in the discipline has high goals in the Dolomites. Thanks to his enormous swimming and mountain biking skills, he will be on the starting line to finish the season in the Top 10 of the overall elite World Cup ranking.

“Neither sufficient nor viable”

Contrary to what one might imagine of a very demanding sport like triathlon, the hardest part is not in the sporting performance for the talented Hérault native who is only at the beginning of his career.

Every year, Jules Dumas runs madly after sponsors who could finance his season on the world circuit (around 25,000 euros, excluding equipment).: “For the moment, my parents help me, I use the money that I earn from races, I can count on two or three partners, he lists. But that is neither enough nor viable if I want to continue. I need a company that believes in me and finances my season so that I no longer have to think about that and focus on the sporting aspect. If at the end of the month, you don't know if you can eat properly, it's complicated…"

So, once the season is over, Jules Dumas will decide whether he can continue to be a full-time high-level athlete. Given his results, it would be a huge waste if he had to give up. And also, one example among many others of the limits of a sports system in France incapable of supporting all of its champions.