I found the bike course modification... we no longer go over to Washington Street (blue line below).. instead we come right back on the other side of 202 (so we don't get that nice fast downhill sweeping left section.) Guessing they made one of the out and backs slightly longer to make up for the distance.

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Team Zoot

Absolutely stupid long T1 now. And for what. Seems really stupid to me. I will be leaving some running shoes at swim exit.

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

I’m really can’t figure out why they did this... there was far more room (big grassy area) to stage everyone down by the west entrance (old swim start.) There is far less room for 3000 people at the new “swim start”.

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Team Zoot

The bike course is an unsafe clusterf*ck. Now this with the swim?

They must hate attendance #’s.

And the T1 run is actually longer than the map I posted because you have to run along the water all the way past transition to the far East side, then you enter T1 (swim in/run out)and run back to the west to find your bike.

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Team Zoot

Running there this am. I’ll measure prob 1/3mi

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

They did the same change at lifetime a couple weeks back. The West bound 202 on ramp is plenty fast, just be careful because there is a split in the pavement that slowly moves to the right side of the road. If you ride on the right, you'll have to cross it at some point.

For the T1 run, I feel that the concrete there can get slippery when wet and running barefoot on it has always been a little tricky.

A little over .4mi the other problem if that whole thing is not carpeted (it won’t be) is that the cement is spots is very slick.

Stupid. Bring back the GD stairs!!!!

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

Geez what a fucking dumb idea by ironman.

Everyone in the race should email the RD & WTC asking it to be changed back

ETA: Here's the email address I found to email: arizona70.3@ironman.com

I've already emailed.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Should I post the race directors email 😂

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

Who came up with this? or the previous non-modidied version?

The bike course needs to be modified and a lot more drastically than they've done here. What a giant cluster.

I don't totally agree. Last year I was a concerned about the bike when I saw the map but after racing the course I think it is fine, it is fast, it is fun, and it keeps you on your toes. I didn't think is was dangerous and most of the u turns have plenty of space (I think there was only one that was a little tight.) Even coming through traffic on lap 2 and 3 was fine, I always felt there was plenty of space to get around people. I started early in the day and went 2:29 so it was pretty empty out there on the first lap and laps 2 and 3 were some weaving through some BOP'ers with a pretty big speed differential... and even with that things were fine. I was really surprised at the end of the day out much fun I had on the bike course... far better than I expected. Yes, crazy amount of turns but so many races (like IMAZ (140.6)) are just tuck and go on a straight road which can get a little mind numbing.

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Team Zoot

Many thanks for this. I'm racing 70.3 AZ for the first time this year and was hoping for some actual analysis rather than just blanket "it's a cluster" statements. Anyone else with actionable insights? I realize there are some older threads on the 70.3 version, but they're fairly sparse

Maybe you won’t have to worry as I just saw this article on the algae bloom in Tempe town lake...
https://tempeinmotion.com/...fox-10-news-phoenix/

Isn't Judy a member of Tri Scottsdale? Or am I thinking of someone else...

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I was inside the top 10 bikes into T2 last year. There were a few spots on Rio Salado where we were 3 wide. Someone did yell at me at one point because I passed about a foot to their left.
One of the U turns was a cluster F mainly bc people make a wide U turn while I make more of a V shaped turn since that allows one to carry more speed.
It took about 1.5 laps for me to start passing lapped traffic.
I think a lot of this will also have to do with your start position in the swim. If you're starting in the 35+ swim group you're probably going to have more congestion. I started mid point in the 25-30 group and passed about 50% of those starting ahead of me in the swim.
Hope that helps

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Super helpful, appreciate it. Hopefully this blue algae situation doesn't DK the swim. Time trial start on this course would be a nightmare. I imagine even with all of the decelerations and accelerations, disc wheel in the back is still the play? And sounds like wind in October isn't that bad so deep section front wheel fine?

Sorry for the blanket cluster statement. Let me explain. The course has something like 70 turns...in 56 miles. And it's crowded. I didn't think it was dangerous per se, I just thought it was a bit, uh, cramped. It's unfortunate that the bike course couldn't be spread out a bit more, but I think logistics and cost (apparently its pretty expensive for the full course to cross through the reservation to get out to the BeeLine). Still I wish they'd spread it out a bit. There is some absolutely amazing cycling out here and I wish the Ironman would showcase that a bit better. Everything else about this race is on par with other 70.3 races or better. Flat run with a LOT of crowd support. Wetsuit swim at Tempe Town Lake Park, which just adds up to fun.

The run from the swim out to T1 was long last year. But I don't think that's a big deal because everyone has the same run into T1. Incidentally, last year it was also lengthened for the Full IM. I know this because I was there volunteering as a wetsuit stripper.

They changed the swim exit for the full last year... the run to T1 was uncarpeted... I lost a huge chunk of skin from the bottom of my foot running on the sidewalk to T1. This run looks like it'll be even longer

Yes use a disc and as deep as you can handle up front. If you're in the M45-49 do not use any race wheels at this race though.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

last year's IM swim start and finish were the same as the 70.3. This year they reversed the start/finish leaving a much, much longer run to T1 mostly on concrete. Last year there was a fair bit of grass to run on to get to T1.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

29 Turns per loop....

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

This. The pavement is terrible, and all of those 90 degree turns on said bad pavement do not help matters. I have family a few miles from transition. Too bad. If this course were better I'd probably go every year.