Please advise this flatland moron:

I am thinking about what kind of bike to ride at the ITU Worlds Aquabike in Pontevedra this May. Which bike would you recommend: a tri bike or a road bike? And is the benefit of one over the other strong or weak?

Thanks!

Course details:
5054 feet climbing over 72.53 miles (1540m/117km). Multiple climbs of 4-7% from 0.5 miles to 2 miles in length.

Here’s the course map: http://pontevedra2019.org/...letas-info/aquabike/

Coming from Miami this might as well just say ride up the face of the Empire State Building. Last summer I did Roth on my tri bike which was about the same total climbing but over 112 mile. I did all right, except that I had a virus that made my day a vomiting nightmare.

Longer story:
I own one bike, my tri bike. I’m not poor, but I am cost-conscious so I sold my old road bike when I bought my tri bike. I have been considering buying a new road bike but have put it off. If justifiable from a racing sense, this race might be a good excuse to buy a new one.

Looking at the race profile, I think I might want a road bike, but I am not certain. I don’t have much experience with climbing anything other than a big bridge. Comfort is not an issue. I am looking more into the advantages of weight and handling. More than likely I will get an aero-road bike rather than a really lightweight bike optimized for climbing. That will reduce the benefit of the road bike over the tri-bike, but around here an aero-road bike has much more utility.

I am not going to set the world on fire at this race. I am MOP at best. I’m really just looking for a fun experience, but if the bike will make a difference, I’m willing to get it.

Thanks again!