Hello
I ve nver done Francfort.

So for Maastricht (2016)
Swim: first part against the current with a nice rolling start 3 by 3 each 5". Second part with the current. Water temp was nice and the quality seemed to be ok.
52'
Bike: the bike part isnt that fast. But 2 long straight lines there is a lot of turns and little hill.
You will have to be very activ/reactiv on your bike to manage not to loose speed.
If you dont like sharp turns, little step little hill, some little parts of cobblestone forget ...
No drafting at all.
Love that course
Run: different parts. Some cobblestone too downtown with a lot of people cheering. One little hill to definitively broke your legs on the way up and down ...
Lots of turns.

Finished 1 of my ag and 6 overall (female) and really love it. (Hate drafting)

According to me Francfort must be faster.
But if you are a good cyclist and runner it could be very enjoyable !

Thanks for the reply!

I'm aware they've changed the bike course for IM Maastricht every year in it's short 3-year history, which is one thing that has made me reticent about it. Just looking at the maps, this year's route does seem to cut out a lot of the wiggling around by routing it on smaller roads and a lengthy cycle-path section along the river, but I don't know what impact that has on the "speed" of the course.

As I mentioned, Frankfurt seems a bit more "established" in this regard and although they had a diverted (and slightly shortened) bike course this year due to construction works, it says on the IM website that it'll be back to usual next year.

I would have chosen Francfort ... but the date wasnt ok.

Probably more crazy and supportive race.

Either will be a good choice but for speed and PB Francfort should be faster.


Maybe you could also consider Zurich.
My fastest IM.

(Done Nice 2x, Zurich, Mallorca dnf due to injury the drafting paradise, south africa one of my favorite, Maastricht ...Roth didnt like it. And 6x Kona)

Just do both. Maastricht in 2018 and Frankfurt in 2019... problem solved. You're welcome.

I lived in or near Frankfurt for a year during the early '90's. It didn't strike me as all that interesting of a City. Most of the cool stuff to go check out all got turned to moonscape during WW2. I think that Maastricht is likely to be more interesting. And certainly there'd be no language barrier there. The Dutch speak English better than us Americans.

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Frankfurt is generally very hot (I am aware that a few years ago it was also bloody cold!)

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