There's a few guys from Western Australia going over. Interesting to see how they go in the cooler temps!

I spoke with a Cork native about 2 weeks ago, and he commented that the roads are 'fecked'.

I'm racing it and I did a full course recce last weekend. My thoughts are as below

- Swim is cold, it'll be about 14 degrees. Apart from that it's a fairly straightforward swim, calm when I was in and a nice beach. Transition is right next to the beach so no long T1 run either. Just be prepared for the cold

- Bike is undulating but the biggest issue is the road surface, a lot of it is really bumpy and you'll get loads of vibration. No pot holes to look out for but a draggy surface and the constant vibrations and bumps will wear you down. The climbs are all fairly easy apart from windmill hill in the town centre. This hill is short but very steep (22%) and you ride it at 55 miles and 110 miles. Just make sure you're geared for it. Also a fair amount of corners and a few tight twisty sections so the course will reward a good bike handler. It's an honest course and you'll get no problems with drafting, if you're a good all around bike rider (aero, powerful, good handler) it will really suit you. I think only pros and very fast age groupers will be sub 5 on this course

- Run will be super fast. Almost entirely flat, super nice surface, 4 laps mainly all through the small town of Youghal so the support should be superb. I'm really looking forward to the run.

In general the venue is superb, all quite compact and right in the town centre. Support should be amazing and the whole area is really looking forward to it. When I went last weekend there were flags of support everywhere. I'm coming over from the UK hunting for a K slot, not sure how competitive it is going to be compared to Europe, the field is basically 1/3 Irish, 1/3 UK and 1/3 US from what I've heard.

Ride on the left LOL

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

Ha, do you ride on the left?

Hopefully they coordinate with the road bowling guys and no-one is doing that on race day. I cycled up to Youghal once and that isn't what you want to cycle into the middle of when you aren't expecting it. Youtube it if you don't know what it is.

Seriously though. Has there been a bit of a bike route change? I think last year, south of Midleton, it went off the main road and followed the coast by East Ferry? It looks like this year it's following the main road straight south. Don't the hills roll a bit around there? Nothing you'd quote a gradient for but I assumed that previously they followed the coast to flatten it out a bit. If it was me I'd choose wider tires and gears but then I'm middle pack.

I think a Swiss pro got a DQ last year at IM UK for taking a roundabout the wrong way around...If the road is empty it's easy to forget to ride on the correct left side.

Thanks for the feedback. Looking forward to the crazy atmosphere on crowded windmill hill & the run course. Glad the run course is flat.
You can add one french to the 1/3 irish 1/3 uk 1/3 us field ;)

this is the first year of the race so every inch of it is a change from last year. as there was no route

I'm Irish, but live near Dublin, not Cork and not familiar with the course but I'll volunteer a few comments anyway. While there are lots of nice roads in Ireland, a lot of the rural roads are not fantastic, and going by IM 70.3 Dublin the last few years IM don't excel themselves at picking the best routes! I hope they've done better in Cork.

Water temps off Ireland are usually pretty brisk, whether the Irish Sea on the east coast or the Atlantic elsewhere. But it's nothing extreme for a wetsuit swim.

No-one can answer your query on wind. The Irish weather is notoriously fickle and can change dramatically from one day to the next. Have a look at forecasts on http://www.met.ie a few days out. They're usually pretty accurate but I wouldn't rely on them until you're within a day or two. I was out yesterday morning for a ride and the temperature was about 10-12degC, overcast, with intermittent light rain and a light breeze. I've been out other June Sunday mornings in 25degC temperatures, beautiful sunshine and dead clam. Mostly it somewhere between the two in summer, but assume nothing!

Once you're off the motorway network, Irish roads are a bit of a mix. There's a lot of pretty good roads, but there's also a lot that haven't been well maintained and have a scattering of potholes and bumps. This is most often on minor roads and in rural areas or minor roads, Some also have rather a rough finish. Secondary roads are maintained by local authorities, which has a lot to do with the inconsistency. You shouldn't come across anything too exceptional on Irish roads. They're not the best around, but most are reasonable.

Ride on the left ;)

That's embarrassing, my bad. I must of been looking at a proposed route from last year after it was announced? I've seen maps with the east ferry part and also turning onto the R631 rather than going further south but I guess those were just what they were thinking at the time.

I live in Ireland. Here are the finer points.

Swim will be chilly; definitely need that wetsuit
Bike course is slightly rolling and the surface is shite. Low PSI folks!
The run should be flat and fast.

no embarrassment needed :)

there was an early proposed route, that could have been what you saw, there was some fairly heavy changes to that for the actual race route.

Well lads.

Nothing to add that hasn't been said, or that top Irish Pro hasn't said here...

https://www.facebook.com/...ts/1359503104198352/

And he's the best biker in the country. In fact uber biker by almost any standards on his day.

As stated no excuses of my bottle fell out, you've ample notice to switch to xlab gorilla cages which imo are the main ones for a course like this.
Cheap fix for a potential race saving issue.

Will be watching and tracking so good luck to all.

Will Brownlee turn up and race to the finish?!?! 🤔

I can ride both ways, if ya know what I mean. Giggity.

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing