I was in the race on Sunday and saw some of the crash happen. The first four people were down when I came upon the accident near the turn around of the last out and back of the race. The riders coming after them did not see the crash until it was too late. Most of them slowed down but one guy swerved to go around the pile up and as he passed me, (I was going slowly up the hill, he was going down...two riders in front of me had jumped off their bikes to assist the 4 people who had crashed and were on the road or in the grass...bikes and equipment everywhere) he hit something and he must have have been catapulted forward because there was a loud crash and he must of gone flying forward and then he hit the ground. He hadn't slowed at all and crashed going over 30 miles an hour. AWFUL!!!!!!. Ironman has got to eliminate that part of the bike course. The road is too narrow and the return on the bike is too fast. What I suspect is that the young guys who didn't go till the last waves were trying to make up time and they were FLYING down that 6 mile return to town. Totally dangerous. If that last guy who crashed didn't die up there, he is totally lucky. One other note...I was nearly completely back to town before the first ambulances started to head up the hill...it would have been at least 30 minutes after the crash happened. IM should have had ambulances at the end of the out and back...they could have gotten to the wounded sooner.
I don't think the pavement was too hot or "oily". There may have been a bump there. Crash most likely caused by too many people flying down the hill in the aerobars. I think the road rolled a bit at that point and made it hard for the oncoming riders to even see the initial crash. Either way, IM please fix the course for next year MTB has miles of better roads! I read that there were 3200 people in that race...maybe too many for the course?
I don't think the pavement was too hot or "oily". There may have been a bump there. Crash most likely caused by too many people flying down the hill in the aerobars. I think the road rolled a bit at that point and made it hard for the oncoming riders to even see the initial crash. Either way, IM please fix the course for next year MTB has miles of better roads! I read that there were 3200 people in that race...maybe too many for the course?