Tom, much like Ski Dubai, they are likely building a custom 56 mile bike loop complete with artificially produced 1000 ft climbs, and a special 1000mx200m wide basin for the two loop swim. The run will be held on a custom 13.1 mile grass loop as smooth as a golf green, with its own undulating 100 ft climbs every couple of miles, and pop up sprinkler system to cool off overheated runners. Maybe we just need to go with this proposal to the prince, show him the ROI, and the marketing mileage he can get to further jack up the profile of his tourism industry and that should make it happen :-)

I read somewhere that the tourism industry in Dubai now accounts for $30B in national revenue. This seems pretty high, but if this is indeed the case, such a pipedream would be a drop in the bucket.

Next door in Qatar, the local Sheik is spending a whole pile on increasing tourism too. They already have the UCI pro bike race, an ATP tournament and the 2006 Asian Games.

There are interesting things going on with regard to TriDubai and Ironman in general, i.e. Ford as a title sponsor. My guess is that any announcements will be coming before July when Kyle DuFord of InsideTri publishes his article on TriDubai. I wish I could say more but I can't. You'll have to wait.

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Matt Bauer
Bauer Tri News
http://www.bauertrinews.com

I already know THE hotel to stay at for such an event

I've traveled extensively in both Dubai and Qatar and can attest to the tourism figures. In Dubai they actually excavate the ocean floor to build islands out of sand to support even more tourism activities. Qatar primarily focuses on sports venues while Dubai uses more traditional methods. Both can be monster hot.

I guess a good question would be if you wanted to race on an artificial course? Not an issue for me (I barely race) but that was given due consideration at the Embassy.

B

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"the only normal people are the ones you don't know"

Here's a hint (well, a tip actually): start saving your pennies b/c it ain't gonna be cheap.

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"The more you sweat today, the less you bleed tomorrow"

That's huge.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Rennie Roker or Carl Thomas?