Time zone question - I'm looking at flying into Atlanta, but it looks like part of Tennessee is not on East Coast time. Is Chattanooga on East Coast time or Central time? I've found mixed info on this.

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Atlanta and Chattanooga are in the EST. I live in Atlanta and travel to Chattanooga to race multiple times a year. There has never been a time change.

Chattanooga is EST. The time zone change is west of Chattanooga. Nashville is CST.

Thanks for the confirmation on the EST of Chattanooga! I'm looking at a flight that leaves Atlanta around 8 pm on Sunday, and think there would be enough time. However, I'm trying to decide whether I'd have time to box up my bike, then drive and get to the airport, or just use TBT for shipping my bike. TBT would end up being around $200 more, but much easier for leaving right after the race.

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i have a question about the decent off of lookout mtn on hwy 136. google maps show some curves. Are they sweep curves or more technical. Is it decent that we can just "let'er rip"? 50 mph+?

Thanks,

So is this going to be a wave start or a self seed rolling start for the AGers?

More and more 70.3's are starting to do rolling starts this year (I have yet to do one). I wonder if a rolling start would help with the drafting issues that have plagued 70.3 worlds. Thoughts?

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Since it is a "Championship" I would think it will be waves by age group, so everyone is actually racing one another. At least that's how they did it in Vegas. Even the larger AG's that are 2 or 3 waves in a regular 70.3 were all in one wave.

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I hope they don't do a self-seeded rolling start only because I am not sure how I would self-seed given that big up-stream portion of the swim. I am not a weak swimmer by any means, but there is no way I could reliably predict my time with that large uphill swim, then downhill.

Got a slot at Madson 70.3 2 weeks ago. Have a mini motorhome and driving that down from WI. How is downtown for driving with a small rv? Planning on coming in Thursday nite/Friday am. Staying at campground 10 miles away so rent a car for fri-sun am but can I find a spot to park the rv anywhere near race?
Thanks for any assistance and good luck to all who are going.

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When I was there in May, I did not see much room for an RV to be parked anywhere downtown. Lots of car parking and all of the main stuff is within a mile radius. Defenitly drive the car into town!

My friend parked his RV in the aquarium parking lot for the 70.3 in 2015. He said the location was perfect but the people stumbling out of the bars at all hours of the night didn't make for great sleep.

So is this going to be a wave start or a self seed rolling start for the AGers?[/quote]

Since it is a "Championship" I would think it will be waves by age group, so everyone is actually racing one another. At least that's how they did it in Vegas. Even the larger AG's that are 2 or 3 waves in a regular 70.3 were all in one wave.[/quote]
Hi. All 70.3 races everyone is racing one another. The rolling start didn't change it. But...I never saw a Worldchampionship with rolling start.


Let's see... Rolling start's is a growing trend in IM events. Australia last year: waves (without breaking the biggest age groups).

Trying to decide two things in regards to my bike setup:

1. I currently run a 1x setup with a 52 up front and an 11-32 in the back. Should I buy an 11-36? The grades look significant enough where it might help me stay in my seat a bit more.

2. I run 90mm deep wheels and usually race with a wheelbuilder cover. I'm leaning towards racing with it but it is a decent amount of extra weight. Thoughts for wheelcovers?

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By gear ratio you might want to consider the bigger cogs. I run a 2x with a 53/39 and would run an 11-28 here and looking at gear ratios it seems a 52/36 combination would put you right around my 39/27. Just judging by my experience climbing Brockway at IMLT in 2013, I was glad I had that ratio available and would have hated having only a 39/24-equivalent which is what you would get with a 52/32

As for the wheelcover, absolutely run it. That climb is only going to be like, what, 15-20 minutes long? The rest of this course is going to be gently rolling and very fast.

Question for the guys / male athletes.

Who is flying in on Friday vs Thursday?

As for myself, I am prevaricating between the two dates. I could fly in on Friday early monring (into Atlanta), but I am slightly concerned that such a plan would leave very little buffer in case of unforseen circumstances (e.g. significant flight delay, crazy traffic, etc). Thursday would obviously have more slack in the system, but it feels like overkills.

What are other folks doing?

Thanks.

PS: First time traveling to a triathlon in North America... and a relative newbie to WTC events (and a total newbie to the WC)

I'm flying into Atlanta on Friday from Boston and flight arrives around 11 am. It looks to be around a ~2-2.5 hr drive, which should be ok with check in till 5 pm on Friday. This doesn't allow for a ton of wiggle room, but I'm not flying with my bike or checking bags, so I hope to be in my rental car an hour after landing.

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Traffic heading out of Atlanta on Friday can be horrific. There has been more than once where I've been stuck on I-75 for a couple of hours, and only covering a few miles, because of a bad wreck. just get the hell out of the airport as quick as possible

What gearing are people planning on running? I'm in between a 11-25 or 11-28 with 53/39.

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I would say if you have the option, go for traveling on Thursday. Of course that depends on if you are just going for the experience or if you want to do the best you can. It would add a lot of physical and mental stress to be checking your watch being frantic making sure that you make it before the deadline. Lines at check in can be long, parking might be scarce at that time, and of course there can always be travel delays. Go early if you have the option. It is the WC after all.

For my first IM I made the mistake of choosing a flight that was subject to delays and almost missed the cutoff time for check-in. I personally wouldn't risk it again (I didn't know at the time that was a risky thing to do). I am getting into town on Thursday so I have no stress about getting checked in on Friday.

Thanks, everybody.

Have decided to go on Thursday. As other people have said, it is not worth the stress... it is the WC (and my first time)!

I had another thread asking 1x folks about their gearing. There are some 15 and 17% sections of that climb and the first 1.6 miles avg's 8%. I'm thinking a gain ratio of 2.9 is the minimum I need

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I'm coming in on Thursday. Not taking any chances on the things I can't control, with traffic, flight delays, the X factor, etc. Plus it reduces any anxiety related to getting there, getting settled in the hotel, getting checked in, exploring, doing a practice swim, etc.

I like proceeding at my own pace prior to a race-really helps with putting my head on straight for the actual competition....just my strong personal preference....

17% !!!???

I'm assuming you are taking crank length into considering with those gear ratio's (using sheldon brown's calculator).

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