2017 edition is 3 weeks away!

Anyone returning this year or making their maiden voyage? This will be my 2nd IM and first in Europe. Starting my slow taper and getting excited...excited for Lindt chocolate and beer post-race.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

My 4th IM and first time out of the US.

Did it last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will return for the 70.3 some year.

I browsed some of your posts in the 2016 thread. How did you find the corners on the descents? I'll have plenty of time to preview the course by car, perhaps pop out on the bike for a short simulation. I'm hoping the course isn't as brutal as St. George and Madison, where every single descent was disappointingly cut short by corners or other obstructions.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

if you are around town some time before, we can ride it together. i heard some constructions ongoing and can be we will have deviations. next sunday i ll go ride the official course and check where is deviated.

My recollection is that everything was fine except for a couple of corners. The final descent on the main loop where you pop back down on the lake had some tight turns and you had to bleed off some speed. It started as a fast, straight, high speed descent, but then you hit a no-aerobar section due to rough roads. That was a short section and shortly after that there was a hard left and some zig-zagging as you continue the drop. Overall, this is NOT a technical course...just a few corners to watch. Take advantage of the organized preview ride if you can. I went on the first day they had it and was surprised that fewer than 20 people came out. They had two ride leaders and 3 motorcycle escorts for us.

Doing it first time this year. Did Rapperswill-Jona a month ago. Hopefully ascents are not as steep and it's not too hot. >30C in Rapperswil-Jona melted me in the run. :( Won't be forgetting my salt tablets this time around.

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Paulo Matos

Thanks HuffNPuff, much appreciated. I saw the preview rides on the event summary and think it's a great offering, but I am concerned about riding for 2-3+ hours on race week (I recall something like 11am-2:30pm?). What was the preview like in terms of time in the saddle? I know others continue riding long pre-race and that has worked for them, but my coach has me doing just a couple 30 minute warm-ups. I'm not opposed to going out for a tad longer.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

Cool, I may take you up in that offer. I arrive monday and have plenty of free time. Planning to ride Tuesday short and easy. As noted in my other post, I'm wary of longggg rides that week, but could be a bit flexible. I'll message you.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

Not as tough as the 70.3 hills, but not something to be overlooked. I cycled the course earlier this year and summarized the data from the ascents in the table below. It is in Finnish, but rows in order: time, power, speed, cadence, transmission, max. slope, average slope, total ascent.

I am 67kg or about 150lbs.

Hope it helps

I'm also doing this race for the first time this year. It's nice to hear that the bike course is not that technically demanding, I did IM St. Pölten 70.3 in end May and the road was really slippery because of rain and there is this short S curve where a lot of athletes fell.

We will almost certain do a course check by car on Friday. I'm already excited, Zürich is a beautiful city and the course also looks nice, hopefully the temperature will not be close to boiling :)

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AlpineMan Xtreme Triathlon
Do you dare disturb the Goldhorn's kingdom?
#alpinemanxtri

Thanks markko, that's really useful.

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Paulo Matos

I had similar concerns which is why I went on the tour the first day it was offered. The preview did not cover the full 56 loop. The short loop with Heartbreak Hill was not included in the tour due to traffic on that side and course set up around the IM village. I biked to the start of the tour from my hotel and back...maybe had about 48 miles total. We ended up splitting into 3 groups...some speed demons that went on their own, the majority, and a few stragglers. We stopped at several locations where the guide explained some nuances of the course...where water stops would be, where accidents tended to occur, etc. It was hot though, but I'm glad I rode the Beast in advance...that is a climb (we stopped at the top to regroup). If you don't ride it and you can drive it, then at least do that. I've done Powerman Zofingen and IM Zurich, and both times just used the trains to get around. You don't need a car other than perhaps to drive the course. And there is close to zippo parking near the start/finish. My wife and I took a cab to the start on race morning and came back that evening on a streetcar.

Very helpful. Last question - are the welcome dinner and awards banquet brunch available to all athletes or just VIPs? I won't win any awards, but sleeping in on Monday and getting free brunch in expensive Zurich sounds like a great plan.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

They are included in your registration price but you have to buy tickets for guests. I passed on both events. It was hot last year and my wife and I looked at the venue for the welcome dinner before deciding whether to buy a ticket for her. It was a tent next to the expo built over plywood flooring with plastic chairs and no air conditioning...not only no, but hell no! Instead, we went to "Au Gratin" and ate on the balcony overlooking the central train station. It was fabulous and I'm still cashing in spouse approval units for that. On the day after, we were on a tour into Bavaria with a stop at the Rhine Falls on the way back...so no awards dinner. In all honesty, I've only attended 2 awards dinners out of 12 IM races, and only because my wife wasn't with me at those two events. Zurich is definitely expensive to eat, but how many times will you be there in your life if you don't live in Europe?

True, I would've done the same in your situation. I'm skipping the Friday welcome dinner for a BBQ with family and Swiss friends. Monday, however, I may be solo and planned no travel to get over the grogginess. Thus, I may actually attend the awards ceremony. Then Tuesday off to Amalfi followed by Croatia and perhaps a jaunt to Ibiza!

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

Sounds like you are going to have a fabulous time! No matter the result, when I race out of country, I just think how lucky I am to be racing in __________(fill in the blank).