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Calgary 70.3 bike course
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Hey all!
Anyone know much about the new updates Calgary 70.3 bike route? It’s damn hilly at 1300m elevation over 90km but I’m hearing the roads are horrible and traffic potentially dangerous?
Any locals can provide feedback?
Cheers
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [soya] [ In reply to ]
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I'd like to know too. The course for that event has changed so many times over the past 8 years it is hard keeping track of the changes. Would love another road trip down Trans Canada highway to Calgary!
Last edited by: Dilbert: Jul 17, 21 8:41
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [soya] [ In reply to ]
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It's going to be interesting. I think the new course is great for strong riders, but 3 portions are a bit sketchy IMO.

22X is going to be sketchy leaving the city as passing is going to be a mess. I have no idea how this is going to work, but I assume you will have to ride in the road to make most of the passes here, as there is going to be a big speed differential. I did it the other day and easily hit 50-60k/hr here.

The 2 west bound descents are very steep on sharp banks. If you have not ridden it once, you will likely be riding it cautiously. I am concerned for the 2nd lap, as the front guys may hit the slow riders and you can easily hit 70+ on these sections with basically blind corners. Will be pretty sketchy if you come up on someone who is not confident in their bike handelling skills.

Otherwise it should be pretty fun, unless you have a low W/kg, in which case RIP daddio.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [Aid.dre.an] [ In reply to ]
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It's been a long time since I've ridden some of those roads.
Hwy 22 is going to back up considerably with traffic controls in place to allow left turns. Yikes.

Love the course otherwise... a puncheurs dream.

I've booked a vacation during that time otherwise I'd probably sign up.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [NordicSkier] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah this is gonna be a fun ride. I just hope the weaker riders stay far to the right on the technical sections. I had nightmares of ripping down the descents with squirlly riders. At least they will find my body quickly!
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [soya] [ In reply to ]
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I rode it last week and some of those roads regularly. The pavement isn't the greatest everywhere, but I definitely wouldn't say it's horrible or dangerous. The only part potentially dangerous with traffic would be on the 22 but with police stopping traffic at the two turns across the hwy it shouldn't be that bad.

Yeah there are a couple steep sections, but they aren't long and the descents are definitely not technical. Those roads in that section are dead quiet and there shouldn't be much traffic for the most part.

The last run in into T2 is super fast and slightly downhill so you'll have a nice section to get read for the run if you went a little too hard on the climbs.

On best bike split the new course is about 10 mins slower than the previously published one and about 15 mins slower than 2019 course.

Ps. The actually elevation is closer to 1150 I believe.

Strava
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [Aid.dre.an] [ In reply to ]
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Aid.dre.an wrote:
Yeah this is gonna be a fun ride. I just hope the weaker riders stay far to the right on the technical sections. I had nightmares of ripping down the descents with squirlly riders. At least they will find my body quickly!

It really takes a long time to lap slower riders. A 2:15 bike split person will only lap the 3:30ish crew (depending on swim rolling start deltas). So I think lapping is largely a none issue.

What is the pavement quality?
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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I am just wondering if the lapping will happen if they stagger the swimmers. But eh that's for future me to worry about
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Due to middle portion of the course being 2 laps, there definitely will be mixing of fast and slow racers. That portion though is fairly free of traffic so there shouldn't be any trouble passing.

Roads are a mix of nice pavement and older rougher pavement, but I wouldn't say dangerous with pot holes and such, just not new and smooth. Would maybe run slightly lower pressure in the tires.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pc39sM1BZCB91AQq5

Strava
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [mstewarttri] [ In reply to ]
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Any thought of riding the road bike Gustav Iden style or is the TT still the way to go? I might bring both and make a decision after I drive it.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [bretzky] [ In reply to ]
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TT easy. What goes up must come down. You'd just be hemorrhaging time on the flats and the downhills. You'll still be in the aero bars >90% of the race. Other than the 6 or so shortish climbs @ >6% grade it's mostly rolling hills.

Strava
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [mstewarttri] [ In reply to ]
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On Monday when I was riding out on the roads west of the 22 they were paving the rougher patches. It is not an easy course, there are 90 degree turns at the bottom of several of the descents. The 22 will be busy and making left hand turns off of it will be interesting in the race. The climbs are not long but there are not many sections that are not either up or down. I ride and run out of these roads often and it will not be a fast bike course. There is a strong possibility of wind out there as well and the bike course is 100% exposed so if it is a warm sunny day it will be felt. It is for sure a slower course than the one that was posted up until last Sunday. That course was fairly fast! It is exciting to be back to racing. See you all out there.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [bretzky] [ In reply to ]
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bretzky wrote:
Any thought of riding the road bike Gustav Iden style or is the TT still the way to go? I might bring both and make a decision after I drive it.

TT bikes are ALWAYS faster.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [mstewarttri] [ In reply to ]
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mstewarttri wrote:
TT easy. What goes up must come down. You'd just be hemorrhaging time on the flats and the downhills. You'll still be in the aero bars >90% of the race. Other than the 6 or so shortish climbs @ >6% grade it's mostly rolling hills.

Ya I just checked it out on Google Maps and like you said it's not that technical so TT the way to go.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [soya] [ In reply to ]
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Have any of you guys driven or ridden the course yet? Some of these descents look like they're no joke i'm wonder how hot you can take them.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [TrentS] [ In reply to ]
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There’s a couple that if you haven’t ridden them before would be a little sketchy bombing down in aero bars. But since it’s two loops you may be more confident the second time around.
It’ll also depend on congestion of cars and other racers.
Overall I’d say some are gonna be pretty fast but no sharp turns right after the descent. And while there’s time to be gained if super aggressive there’s definitely some risk.
A hilly course that’ll definitely test the legs!
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [soya] [ In reply to ]
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how was it?

(i couldn't race this year, asking for next year)
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [benleg] [ In reply to ]
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The bike course was challenging, and split up the riders. No need for draft busters. Some nice long climbs and then quick descents. Very few flat sections, so it was great. The run was a 3 lap route, with a couple of small hills. Never far from transition, and a chance to see competitors multiple times. Will be interesting to see if it is a long-term deal at Harmony Lake, and same thing with the bike course.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [irondave] [ In reply to ]
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congrats on your race. I just saw the result. You swam-biked like we were back at Wildflower in the mid 90's and then your run was very respectable for 55-59!!!
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [irondave] [ In reply to ]
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I really liked the bike course, just challenging enough, and no real issues with any traffic, at least when I was out there. Wasn't a huge fan of the run course with the hills and a muddy snakey section hah, but short looped courses are always more fun for the family watching.

If it does continue up in the north west with harmony it would be interesting to see if they go back to the course they had originally planned. That one still had a decent climb and much better roads, though definitely the potential for more traffic.

Strava
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [ In reply to ]
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I didnt see this posted elsewhere; some sad news from the swim course:

https://www.cbc.ca/...rmony-lake-1.6126282
An Ontario man drowned while competing in an Ironman race in Alberta Sunday morning.
The Ironman 70.3 Calgary triathlon started with 1.9 kilometre swim through Harmony Lake — about 30 kilometres west of the city in Rocky View County — before the bike and running courses.
Local RCMP received a call about a drowning around 8 a.m., after a 47-year-old man was found in the water by Ironman race volunteers.
Ironman said in a statement that swim safety personnel recognized the athlete was in distress and required immediate medical attention.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [test] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah it was the main story on http://www.calgaryherald.com too, also confirmed on the Ironman Calgary FB page. My family that was there heard rumblings of it while I was out on the bike course. Apparently there were a lot of police, fire and ambulances called to the lake just before 8am. Always sad to hear something like this happen.

Strava
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [mstewarttri] [ In reply to ]
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I doubt that other course will ever get permitted. The people in Springbank would not do well with having their roads filled with a couple of thousand athletes, inconveniencing them. In fact I pre-road that course and could not believe the race organizer was able to get approval. There also would have been much more opportunity to draft as there was only one climb that lasted about 10 minutes, and was not that steep. The bike course we road today was epic. Bucket list people doing the one and done would not have been happy with it, but athletes looking for a challenge embraced it.
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Re: Calgary 70.3 bike course [mstewarttri] [ In reply to ]
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CTV reporter asked me to comment on this within 5 minutes crossing the finish line as I was crushing a cinnamon bun with a rival in my age group whom I battled with all day. Felt like a hidden camera show.
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