Hello. The ironman.com just posted the oficial bike course. In the Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91-ElxZ9Zw4&t=258s

That course looks like a lot of fun!

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Is it August for the athletes guide / banquet info. ?

I am assuming I will be ok with a 52-36 and 11-28. Should be 57kg on race day. Planning on riding 3.2-3.3 w/kg. In Mississippi, so don't have anywhere to test this.

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Let food be thy medicine...

At that weight, you'll be good with a 21. Ha! Kidding

Mt Cheaha may be close enough and provides good climbing; near Talledega, has enough elevation that even gets snow as late as April

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

will guess that will be a cadence of 70-75 for about 10 minutes of the climb. won't hurt you too much.

Based on the video & the Strava recording of Jack M. - https://www.strava.com/.../1086460370/overview,
I draw a true-course track in MapMyRide: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1705759928
Using this, Best Bike Split gives faster times than one would expect - so it's a fun 2.5-2.75h ride.

As someone who squeaked into the race with a generous roll down, I'm pretty intimidated by how fast folks in this race are and will be bringing enough humility to compensate for a few folks who leave it at home. :)

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3

Is the climb grade quite uniform (6.x% percent for 3miles) or are there some nasty and unexpected really steep pitches mixed in?

Maybe that info is available on Strava, but I am quite Strava illiterate.

Thanks

From the website:


This seems to contradict everything I've seen in this thread about water temperature and the legality of wetsuits. Whats the deal with this?

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Just look at last year's full......on 9/25. I think the water temp. was in the mid 80's and it was close to 100 deg. F

The hotter the better.

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Let food be thy medicine...

I would be really really surprised if this race was wetsuit legal. In 2015, it rained the entire week leading up to the full IM. The temps were cooler (usually 60sF). After this much rain, and cooler temps, I thought it might push the water to be wetsuit legal. But, race day came and the water temp was 77F. On another note, 2016 was a fluke year for hot weather for the full IM. Typically,maths weather in September is very nice

Yeah that's what I'm hoping for. Id certainly prefer a non wetsuit race but it almost seems like they're setting up so they can somehow manipulate it into a wetsuit legal race. I may send them an email and see what's up.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Also from the website FAQ:

4. If wetsuits are prohibited, what are the swimwear restrictions?
... Swimwear must not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend past the knees. Swimwear may contain a zipper. A race kit may be worn underneath swimwear.

Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/...s.aspx#ixzz4onpLWFMI

From the 2017 Competition Rules on Ironman.com:

(f) When the use of wetsuits is prohibited (see Section 4.03), clothing covering any part of the arms below the elbows and clothing covering any of the leg below the knee is deemed illegal and is not permitted during the swim segment of the Race but may be worn after completion of the swim segment; (DSQ)
http://www.ironman.com/~/media/be213fc6232149e4bae8d97798c106ff/033017%20ironman%20competition%20rules%20%20english%20version%2027%20march%2017%20final.pdf


These two statements are contradictory re: covering the upper arm above the elbow. Why don't they edit these things more closely. I was pretty sure the rule was changed but once I saw the FAQ I needed to dig around to find the rules to make sure. Annoying, makes you wonder what else might be incorrect on the race site.

I am going to hazard a guess that the race website simply wasn't updated from last year, and that the new rule allowing short-sleeved tri tops will be in effect.

Agreed, but some of it was edited. Why not go through the whole FAQ.

Maybe the athletes guide will clear things up ..........................(whenever it gets published).

Athlete guide:


http://www.ironman.com/...20reduced%20size.pdf

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blog

So they are saying that the swim start is rolling inside each wave. This really makes little sense to me at an event that's supposed to be a World Championship. Why can't we do either waves, or rolling? Whatever, my distaste for rolling starts doesn't need to be discussed here.

What concerns me is that they say you should seed yourself based on expected swim time. With so much of the swim being up-river I expect everyone will be at least a little slower than their typical swim times. So when choosing a place to start, should I seed myself with the knowledge that my usual 29-30 minute swim might be more like 33 or 34 minutes? Or should I just assume everyone seeds themselves based on what they normally can do without current?

Mainly drafting and bike congestion. A wave start or just a rolling start pretty much guarantees major drafting at this race. A rolling start within a wave start reduces the chances of bike congestion and drafting. Does it eliminate it? Probably not. But I think it won't be as bad as previous years. Just my opinion though. We'll see what happens.

I would see yourself what you normally swim in a 70.3. It will all depend on how fast the current is during the race but I see the swim only being 2 minutes slower than normal if anything at all.

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blog

Is it really going to help anything when everyone in each age group is likely of reasonably similar ability? I can see it helping in a regular 70.3 where even within an AG there will be people swimming from 25 minutes up to an hour, but in this race everyone is going to be in a much tighter range. Probably more like 25-35 minutes for an AG like M35-39

With "roll downs" to qualify, I don't agree with this. I still think there will be quite an assortment of times within each age group.
Either that, or I'll be standing by myself in one of the corrals.

This pretty much makes the point for a rolling start within each wave instead of the standard wave start.

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blog

So is it a "clean" transition, as in no gear setup at your bike, and you put all your gear in bags?

I would assume that it is like a full or other 70.3 Worlds, that nothing is at your bike, and you have to grab a gear bag as you come into transition.

The "Venue Maps" on the website seem to support gear bags. But in classic Ironman fashion, the Athlete Guide is vague and contradictory. If we have gear bags, why do we need to "arrive in transition with plenty of time to set up your gear"? I didn't see anywhere in the guide where it explained how the gear bags should work (maybe I missed it). There's gonna be a lot of people in this race that are new to the gear bag only transition.

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Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3