It’s mainly short rollers or false flats (2-4% grade). Very fast course overall.

I bike some form of the course once or twice a week and it really isn't as it seems. Both of those big bumps on the elevation map are a few miles of very gradual uphill riding (1-2% grade) with a short, steep climb at the end (~5% according to Strava). You can do most of it in aero and not notice that much of a drop in speed with the exception of that last little bit you'll probably be in your granny gear for. The rest of the course is either slightly uphill, or slightly downhill with some small hills mixed in.

That being said, living in the front range and riding in the mountains pretty frequently could have skewed my sense of what is and isn't "flat".

---

Fourth year Elite.
- AP Racing Team
- Dimond Bikes
- Strava
- Insta

It's funny but not having done the course before I also have been asking for intel. What I have heard is that there are a couple of nice hills in the first 25 miles or so but that overall it is a pretty fast bike course. On the other hand I have heard that the run course is deceptively hilly and not all that fast. Is this true?

---

------------------
http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

The run course has 2-3 short climbs each lap, but nothing crazy steep. The part that makes the run course slow is that 10 miles of it is on dusty gravel roads, and with everything but a 1/2 mile stretch on Monarch being completely exposed to the sun.

---

Fourth year Elite.
- AP Racing Team
- Dimond Bikes
- Strava
- Insta

It's a fast course, as others have stated. You can ride 90% of it aero and almost all uphills are rewarded with a fast downhill. Look at some of the AG bike splits - close to 2:00 - altitude helps, but in general it's pretty fast.

---

Mike Ricci
2017 USAT World Team Coach
USAT National Coach of the Year
Coaching Triathletes since 1992.

You nailed it - the run is not fast:
exposed dirt/gravel with some small rollers that don't have great traction. Realize that running on gravel is about 15-20" a mile slower than pavement. You can let it rip a bit down Monarch, which is usually pretty hard packed, and that leads into 63rd, which is paved and then back to the gravel around the Res. Over riding the bike, since it is fast leads many racers to have a sub optimal run. Good luck in August!

---

Mike Ricci
2017 USAT World Team Coach
USAT National Coach of the Year
Coaching Triathletes since 1992.

You have 2 sections with noticeable climbs - the intersection of Neva and the hwy 36 and the intersection of St Vrian and the hwy 36. Both are relatively short climbs with some steep sections at the top. You will also hit some rollers when you are coming down 75th St. The elevation gain posted on the IM site looks about right or maybe even a tad on the high end - my total elevation gain for the IM Boulder was 4100 feet and we did 2 loops of this course including the out and back on Hygiene road which you guys are not doing. So yeah - it is not flat, but it is a fast course. You can use this as a reference - https://connect.garmin.com/.../activity/3732727613

---

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Just did most of the course this weekend in an Oly Race. Anecdotally, the 'hills' really aren't bad at all. My overall average was 25mph and I held ~18-20mph on the uphills without ever really dropping below 15mph. I thought everything was manageable for staying in an aero tuck or sitting up to get some nutrition in.

FWIW, it’s also 57 miles. The horror.

Here's my file from last year:

http://tpks.ws/...HAHHDS5TDD3AYKTKAM3A

You get all the climbing done by mile 28. There are times where it seems like you are going uphill forever and it must be a slow course, (Niwot/Neva and St. Vrain) but there are long and very fast downhills too. You can see my time for the power I put out is pretty damn good. I also had the strategy to ride a bit harder until the right hand turn from St. Vrain onto 36 (at mile 28.6) and then take it easy the rest of the way 'cause it's all fast from there. I still rode a 2:17 and my legs felt good for the run, which is what can break you on this course.

---

-------------
Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Thanks for this Ed. I think we have a similar FTP so this is very informative. Now I just need to get a slippery as you and I'll be all set.

Dry, packed dirt/gravel isn't necessarily 15-20s/mile slow... My half marathon PR (1:11) was run on a flat crushed limestone course - and GPS read it as 13.2 miles, so the course wasn't short. If anything, I think it helped as it helped save my legs vs 13 miles on pavement. I guess it'd be slower if you were planning on wearing the original Vaporfly 4% as your run shoe as the outsole doesn't handle the best on dirt (or wet pavement, for that matter). However the Vaporfly Elites should be better. Assuming it doesn't rain for a few days before the race, I wouldn't go out of your way to adjust pacing for the run much at all for the road surface -- just weather.

That said, the hill at miles 1 and 7 was a bit of a leg killer, and the massive lack of shade really killed me last year.

As far as the bike course, personally I stopped looking at MPH as those first few miles will mentally mess with you given the slight uphill. Anything you lose there will easily be made up later in the race on the long extended downs that go through the countryside. It's easily a 10MPH difference for me at similar wattage going up 36 vs back down on the country roads going east.

It's fast...and fun. You can stay in gear on the uphills as they are steady climbs.

Honestly, the worst part for me is on diagonal hwy at the end. You smell the end of the bike and it looks dead flat, but it's a slight uphill, windy, and cars speeding by. I'm making a bigger deal than it is, but if you think you can ease along the hwy to the res, you're wrong.

I have a couple athletes doing 70.3 and some that did the full a few weeks ago.
Here's my course preview.
https://setthepacetriathlon.com/...ce-course-tips-2019/

It's "flat" in the sense you don't have a steep climb at high grade.
You will have long climbs on false flats. Especially heading into the foothills. So, you may grind for 10 minutes and look around thinking "WTF, this looks flat!".
Overall a great course, but you also might get a headwind that will hamper you as well. Not intense, but enough that you will feel it while trying to maintain power on a flat stretch.

---

Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans