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Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything???
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Hello everybody, I'm from Canada and i will travel to cairns Australia on june for my fifth Ironman
I will like to know all i can before my trip, so if you already did that race, any advice would be very appreciate
Best place to stay?
Wheel setup???? Bontrager 9 front and back or Disc wheel ??
Bike corse elevation?
Run corse?

Anything
Thanks
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [Eco-reno] [ In reply to ]
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Eco-reno wrote:
Hello everybody, I'm from Canada and i will travel to cairns Australia on june for my fifth Ironman
I will like to know all i can before my trip, so if you already did that race, any advice would be very appreciate
Best place to stay?
Wheel setup???? Bontrager 9 front and back or Disc wheel ??
Bike corse elevation?
Run corse?

Anything
Thanks

Hey mate, I'm in Perth (Western Australia) and am flying over to do Cairns 70.3. Will be my first time over there, so can't really give a heap of advice, other than what I've gleaned from mates and the net, so some of it may be wrong! Some random bullet points:

- ride is hilly in sections, but fast. Prone to winds, so you may find a strong headwind at some point. Ride is very scenic
- road surface is pretty good
- run is flat and great with a lot of crowd support
- swim is rolling start and always wetsuit legal because of jellyfish
- swim can be choppy
- T1 and T2 are in different locations, Palm Cove is at start, Cairns is Finish, so people choose one or the other to stay. Pros and cons for both.
- will be warmish and humid
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [Eco-reno] [ In reply to ]
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If you stay in Cairns and have supporters, prepare them for a slow trip back from the swim start. The road is shared with cyclists finishing the half. There are buses put on the the race if you aren't hiring a car.

Run course elevation is zero.

There is one small hill on the bike that you go over both ways twice.

Cairns is a tropical area, so can get lots of rain. Bring an extra spare tube + CO2 because a lot of crap can wash onto the road. .

Similarly it can be windy, especially the last half of the second lap.

Make sure you take the time after the race to visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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I'm also heading over from WA for this race with a few friends. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread :)
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [notaero] [ In reply to ]
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notaero wrote:
I'm also heading over from WA for this race with a few friends. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread :)

cool. Are you doing Busso as well?
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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There are some good race reports online that have a fair bit of info too as well as photos.
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [notaero] [ In reply to ]
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IM from Mandurah and have been to cairns 70.3.
Zed summed it up. Transition can be longgggggg and stretches over palm cove a fair bit. From memory the 70.3 folk were stretched out but the IM folk were more in one area. We rented a car and got in an out ok but many didn’t due to t1 and the traffic back into cairns. Swim can def be choppy. Bike has one monster type hill but flat after that and can get gusty. Do you have a bonty 7 front? I’d use that instead of the 9. Disc is fine. Run dead flat with a good section of it lining the crowds and people along the foreshore bit. Temp can be humid but last year was very mild.
Good little race but having t1 and t2 in different spots is a slight pain in the ass. Maybe I just like the simplicity of having all my crap in one spot
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
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For the swim, prepare for it to be rough. There's unlikely to be swell, but onshore trade winds at that time of year whip the surface up a fair bit. The water will likely be murky too. Water temp will be high and wearing a wetsuit you will sweat a lot in the swim, so factor that into your hydrating swim. The first 45km of the ride is lovely and flat and fast so try not to get carried away as the far end of the bike course has a few hillos and you will likely encounter a head wind on the return leg. The temperature will likely be mid to high 20's (centigrade). Not that hot, but it will be humid, if not actually raining. Adjust your expectations on the run accordingly.
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [benb] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
For the swim, prepare for it to be rough. There's unlikely to be swell, but onshore trade winds at that time of year whip the surface up a fair bit. The water will likely be murky too. Water temp will be high and wearing a wetsuit you will sweat a lot in the swim, so factor that into your hydrating swim. The first 45km of the ride is lovely and flat and fast so try not to get carried away as the far end of the bike course has a few hillos and you will likely encounter a head wind on the return leg. The temperature will likely be mid to high 20's (centigrade). Not that hot, but it will be humid, if not actually raining. Adjust your expectations on the run accordingly.
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This is a good summary.I din't find the water too warm though, nor the weather too hot generally despite being mid to high 20s (low 80sF.) Bike was pretty concentrated, so just prepare for that - like all IMs really. The run for me last year became a bit of a grind - coming back into what was a pretty decent breeze just taxed me a bit. But a great course overall. I will say be prepared for a cluster on race morning. If you have capacity, try booking a room up at Palm Cove for the night before - will save you something like 3 hours plus instead of getting the bus then waiting hours for the 70.3 to start.

Enjoy the trip.

Adrian
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [Eco-reno] [ In reply to ]
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If you are able, stay in Palm Cove the night before, makes life a lot easier come race morning.

Ride- Is awesome but quite lumpy in places and being a coastal road quite prone to winds. No way in hell I'd run a 90mm front wheel. Surface is reasonable though, most of the roads have been resurfaced in the past few years and the main road into Port was done in January.

Run- Flat as a tack. Couldn't get a faster course if you tried.

Swim- Well. Lets just say that chopper isn't there for TV coverage. . . . .
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [TheFisher] [ In reply to ]
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I was there last year.
Lived in Palm Cove, that is very comfortable for start.
The weather was good. Nothing very hot or very humid.


the swim was in choppy waves, dont expect fast times there


The roads are quite rought. I had a 22mm tubular and next time will choose 25mm. But the course is fast. Rolling hils, fast turns, I used brakes only for turnaround. a lot of moderate head wind for last 60k. Keep some power for this.


The run is flat and simple, with a lot of spectators
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [zedzded] [ In reply to ]
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Other than youtube??
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [Eco-reno] [ In reply to ]
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Firstly, if you stay in a cheap motel...it will be dodgy but okay.

Swim and bike no good for spectators....tell em to stay in Cairns and see you on the run.

So the swim...crocodiles (not those nancy gators but real man eating bastards) and sharks, bloody big ones. So swim fast but not too fast that you are out there alone.

Murky water, chop and don’t hit any of the Japanese you are lapping on the second lap..they are your best bet to avoid the sharks.

Don’t swim too slow....refer the buffalo theory.

The bike...while your spectators who didn’t take my advice and are stuck waiting on a bus for 2.5 hours doing a normal 40 min trip...you’ll be doing the first turnaround to Port Douglas (that’s where the rich wankers park their boats)...most likely you’ll be getting some tropical showers.

You will head back south and do the turnaround and head back to Port Douglas...some second rate announcer will call your name as you do the turnaround again.

Head back south and over something called knobbies hill, as usual during the back end of an IM ride, it is only a bump but feels like Everest.

The one joy will be passing some third rate pro who has called it quits and is on the side of the road.

The last 40 k’s will be into a head wind and will do your head in. Care of the rain, the debri on the road will cause a flat tyre (over here it ain’t a tire son but a tyre)...you will waste the first co2 container but get it done with the second, then shit yourself for the rest of the ride knowing you ain’t got another one.

Into Cairns for the run where despite the 3 lap run, there will be northern points where you can get away with walking in front of not too many.

Someone will say you are looking good when you know that is a lie.

Digesting about 600 milligrams of caffeine you will feel alive enough to get over the line...to have your name mispronounced but declared you are an Ironman.

Running the last few kilometers (not miles, are you listening!) the wankers sitting in the cafes may wonder why you are running now and not earlier. Just remember those tossers are 70.3 posers and have no balls to do twice that distance.

Over the line to find out that the after race food and drink is pretty poor in reality.

Don’t waste your time in that compound, nothing there for you really.

Get out to your family who have had a far better time enjoying the Cairns beach side pool (there cause with those sharks and crocs no one swims in the sea) than watching you for 30 seconds each run lap.

They will still think you are a legend despite your war stories of flat tyres, head winds, choppy swims and getting passed by the winner of the 50-55 women’s age group.

Seriously...a great race.

Limp home and avoid the cane toads...evil things.
Last edited by: AussieIron: Apr 17, 18 8:54
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [AussieIron] [ In reply to ]
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😂🤣😂 lol wow that is a Hell of e recap!!
I hope my race will be beter than this
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [Eco-reno] [ In reply to ]
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That was peak Straya right there
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [AdrianM] [ In reply to ]
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There are no sharks at Palm Cove, the crocodiles ate them all.
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Re: Ironman cairns!! I whant to know everything??? [AussieIron] [ In reply to ]
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haha thanks AussieIron.
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