The swim is held in an artificial lake around the oceanarium, salt water in a "large pool"
the bike course is mainly flat, with a small uphill/downhill at the turnaround of the 4 lap course, it may get pretty windy though.
I would say, 90% of the bike course was closed to traffic and it was held on a 4 lane highway, the rest had restricted traffic with about 2 km of tough cobble stone road each lap near the transition area. (there may be some minor changes this year)
Run is TOTALLY flat in a mix of dirt road and concrete near the river and the EXPO98 tourist area.
All this is held in one of the best places to visit in lisbon, 5km from the airport. Plenty hotels in the area.
I dont think you will have an issue with the bike box, i never had to be honest although i know some airlines started charging for that, maybe some other portuguese lurkers can help with that. Easy Jet has some dirt cheap fares and the bike costs about 10€ extra or so
Anyway, easy fast course in a very nice venue.
What do you need to know more?
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S�rgio Marques
When it hurts is when it feels good ;-)
Sergio-Marques.com