I live right on the course so I ride it frequently.

It's probably a combination of things. There are some pretty short but steep, "punchy" climbs right at the start of the bike course that can tax your legs if you go too hard. It gets fairly flat after that as you ride into Sidney, but it is almost always windy out there along the water so you are often fighting a headwind. Most of this course goes along or right near the ocean and the wind switches directions a lot in the course of a ride. I feel like I'm always fighting the wind when I ride out here.

It get's quite hilly on the back half of the course as well and there is also a fairly solid climb right near the end on Willis Point road - about 6mins of climbing on an out and back.

Additionally, the bike course goes around the Saanich Peninsula, which is a mainly rural area and the road surface is not great in spots. That no doubt slows people down as well.

I would agree that it is not a fast course - I have not had fast times on it in the two times I have raced it.

Edit: not sure how that relates to Best Bike Split though. I'm not sure how they go about calculating things

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Team Every Man Jack

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Thanks for the info. I did the race once, in 2016, and enjoyed it for the scenery and so forth. But I don't remember much, and I am racing again this year -- your course guide helps me plan mentally for the bike. Best

All the best to both of you guys. It is a really beautiful course on a sunny day (like today) with plenty of views of the ocean and snow capped mountains.
I raced it in 2016 as well but am not doing it this year. Instead, I'll probably be sitting in my lawn chair in my front yard at km 65, eating breakfast and cheering you guys on as you come by :)

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Team Every Man Jack

Maybe it's because of all the retiree's out for their Sunday drive? /s Don't know much about the course, but the area is quite nice. Enjoy your race!

Because in Canada, we're too polite to draft.

That's pretty good. I was waiting for someone to make a comment about the exchange rate. Something like 'Canadian watts are only worth 80% of American watts'.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.