Vancouver looks really flat…am I reading that right?
I don’t know for sure either. I think I remember reading that the run was totally flat and the bike course was mostly flat with a lot of turns. It would be great if someone could confirm this though.
From the athlete guide that USAT has posted on the TEAM USA site. “The bike course is four (4) laps of 10km, a total of 40km for the Olympic Distance. For the Sprint Distance the Athletes have to complete 2 laps of the same course. The course is anti-clockwise. The
course is hilly and extremely technical.”
I don’t know how to post pictures, but here is the link of the guise that has the profile of the course. It doesn’t seem that hilly to me. But it is not completely flat. The run however looks like it is.
http://www.usatriathlon.org/upload/pdfs/ag_athletes_guidev2_vancouverwc.pdf
Go to my website http://h2ofun.net/indextriathlon2008.htm
Click on the info button for the race date. This is some info I get a while ago on the race.
I am under the impression it is hilly,not flat, at least on the bike.
Dave
I just looked at the info on your site. It looks as if the AG course is the road around Stanley Park. I rode this course all last summer – and it’s not too bad! (Bear in mind I’m solidly BoP and do triathlon “for fun” – so the course should be pretty good for anyone who’s competitive.)
There’s really only one longish, rather steep hill. The road up takes some twists and turns, and you keep thinking the crest must be just around the next corner, but it’s not and you have to keep climbing. However, once you get to the top there’s a nice long downhill, so your legs can recover a bit . . . before you have to do it again.
The rest of the course is flat, with a few ups and downs. Beautiful route too – right through the urban forest with some views of the ocean. Not that you can enjoy that while you’re racing, but it’s an added pleasure on training rides. Watch out for potholes and broken pavement, though. (That road could use a little work.)
The Elite course looks like the one that was used for last year’s World Cup race – that one has a lot of corners, and it was thrilling to watch the athletes take them at high speed.