Yeah, I thought that they'd use Las Colinas to Royal all the way out and back for the bike then use Lake Carolyn/Promenade/Las Colinas for the run. I'm wondering if there are enough straights to warrant TT bike over road bike. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it!

Ill be riding it this weekend, I bet TT is still the answer but it’s definitely closer now bc of this course.

I also thought they’d go further on royal but looking now I just realized that would mean crossing belt line which is a major road to shut down.

Everything about that looks awful. And they seriously tried to charge people $400 for that...

Oh, that's nowhere near the worst courses I've seen for a race of about this distance.

I honestly don't mind races with a bit of technical nature to them -- and given the limited field sizes, should make for some actually interesting racing.

If they had 2,000 people on this course? Yeah. No chance in hell.

As for pricing -- yeah. They ate their crow on that one. Although it's in the ballpark of what the competition is charging these days, you can't do that in Year 1 of the concept.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Doesn't Slowman have some idiom about making the distance fit the course, not the course fit the distance? Because that's just absurd to try and hit some round number....

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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

Sprint course is fine. 100k Course just isn't my cup of tea.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Yes he has said that several times and I agree. I think that's the beauty of the new mindset in triathlon to make it 'fun', 'different' again. Even my original thought that the route would follow straight streets, ala time trial like course, is cloaked in historical thinking about course set-up. I know that Clash Watkins Glen courses were somewhat 'outside the box' and resulted in a very tough course (3300' elev with 12.5% grades in 50 mi on bike and 980' elev on 10mi run).

Ryan is right on with "I honestly don't mind races with a bit of technical to them -- and given the limited field sizes, should make for some actually interesting racing. If they had 2,000 people on this course? Yeah. No chance in hell." Maybe we've all slipped into the IM TT bike course mentality. I like the idea of limited field sizes, technical courses, better athlete experience, and yes, I would pay higher entrance fees for that.

I've never given serious consideration to road or TT bike for a middle distance race. This course has at least caused me to pause and consider the question.

I'd be interested in any comments about the course/roads after your ride this weekend.
My road bike is nothing fancy so would rather ride the tri bike unless it really is a course that benefits a road bike.
Also as a local what's your opinion on the PTO website advertising this as a "Freshwater Wetsuit Swim"?
Unless they are pouring ice cubes into that water I have never swum in Texas in September in a wetsuit!

If you know the area, this isn’t surprising. This area is very poor for a race. Even for a sprint. This isnt a technical course in a fun or interesting way. Las Colinas just isn’t big enough to tolerate longer bike rides. It Gets very congested approaching turn around areas with slower riders. Transitions are usually very quick as area is typically quite small. You will be fine on tri bike. Potentially Sitting up in a few turns won’t negate its overall benefit.

Despite bad course, I will be doing the sprint as local races that aren’t in a pool are at a premium in DFW.

I’m still trying to figure out how they are promising wetsuit swim in mid September. Does Lake Carolyn get fed water from somewhere that’s I’m not aware of??

I will be interested in the pre-pre-race recon as well.

Looks like the PTO is hedging a little bit on the wetsuit topic in their FAQS: Wetsuits may be worn if the water temperature is up to 78°F (25.5°C). If the water temperature is between 78°F (25.5°C) and 83.9°F (28.83°C), you may wear a wetsuit but will not be eligible for age-group prizes. It is highly likely that the PTO US Open will be a wetsuit-legal event.

78 is right on the edge of what I’d expect. Looking back at last sept all my open water swims around here were 78-80. However this summer is way hotter than last so if I had to bet I’d put money down on will not be wetsuit legal.

This is definitely still a TT bike course. Some of y'all just need to take the TT bike off the trainer and practice actually turning

That said, I was on the fence about doing this race. And after the course release, I'm 98% sure that I'm out. That whole design across the board looks terrible to me.

That is a stark change from what was advertised from day 1 as a wetsuit legal race. It may be but my first thought was the race promoter can’t possibly live in Texas. A mid September race in DFW is toasty.

Thanks so much for your suggestion of taking the TT bike off the trainer to practice turning the front wheel. I've never done that for the 100+ triathlons that I've competed in. For a newbie like me, it gets confusing when, in some races on TV, people use the bicycles with the curved handlebars on them, and, in other races, they use the bicycles with the handlebars that stick straight out in the front. Thankfully, experts on ST are always here to help!

Winner, winner... chicken dinner!

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In search of the righteous life... we all fall down

ProTriNews/Talbot Cox are claiming that PTO is designing a new course for the pros. If that's a better course then the paying athlete should be able to race on it. This stuff is always funny.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I doubt it's "better" but shorter loop likely to get more in "front" of people. ITU has done that for years at their WTCS (former WTS), AG athletes race on Y course, elites race on X course.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Did Edmonton have two courses? One for AG and one for Pro?

yes

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Las Colinas is such that a materially better course doesn’t really exist.

What am I doing wrong? I can't seem to find the course maps. The link (edit - from the OP) points to a splash page announcing the maps - but nothing clickable leads to the maps...

Just from the discussion above, it seems as if there is some overlap with the 2022 Multisport National Championship? I raced that, can provide details...

The only difference in Edmonton between the pro course and the amateur course was the transition area.

Other than that the courses were the exact same.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it, and doesn’t have a clue.

Interesting I thought I heard on the telecast say the 2 courses were different a couple times by the commentators.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Scroll down some and click the course maps tab