Who’s In? This will be my first time- looking forward to a fast race and hopefully nice weather…so far the 10 outlook calls for rain but im sure/hope that will change.
I just wanted to say congrats for signing up. I’ve done the Demi Esprit every year since 2004, but will need to miss this year. Perhaps next year! It’s my favourite event. Awesome venue! The RD Danny McCann is a member of the Canadian Tri Hall of Fame and has been putting on the race there since 1986.
Dev,
What is the weather typically like? I am very excited as this is my A race- been training pretty hard and cant wait to see Montreal…
It can be nice (like high 70’s, even low 80’s) or cold (high 50’s with rain)…we get both types of weather. Cross your fingers for high 60’s and no wind, or better yet, high 60’s and a South East wind…if you get that, both the bike and run courses end up being blazing fast, because you get blown by the wind heading North and sheltered heading south. If you get a northwest wind, it’s not that bad either. You’ll see when you get there. The direction of the wind can have 6-8 min impact on half IM bike times and almost double for iron distance. You really don’t want a wind out of the staight north for the bike nor the run as it really gets tough on the run as the wind can blow down the basin and really push you back. Fingers crossed you get a good wind day like 2006, 2008, 2010.
I’m in, back in the long distance game after a few years off. Weather is now showing a few showers in the morning, but still plenty of time for that to change.
Who’s In? This will be my first time- looking forward to a fast race and hopefully nice weather…so far the 10 outlook calls for rain but im sure/hope that will change.
I’m thinking about it - won’t make a final decision until next Thurs - the weather forecast will be a major factor - if its hot, I’m not.
Either way - good luck!
I will be** **there doing the demi this year and did the full last year. Hoping for the same weather as last year!
the weather is looking good so far! hope it holds…
Dear Esprit participants,
Please post your race reports and give me your impresssions. I am seriously considering the full esprit in 2012 and would love your thoughts on the criterium format. Thanks in advance!
I will be on site.
Come and say hi at the Kiwami booth 
Oli.
Doing the Esprit.
Had a disappointing day (too hot for me) at IMC, but didn’t hurt anything (certainly not on the run anyway) so why not, and the bonus is I get another trip to Montreal.
Weather forecast on CBC weather for next saturday so far is 23c and sunny. But that is 5 days out.
For those who haven’t done the race, the swim is one of the best and obviously least crowded.
For the bike. You pass on the right ( racing counter clockwise, slow goes to the inside lane), there’s a bit of pack riding at the beginning, be carefull and stay out of the packs (I have seen an entire pack dq’d), don’t forget there are three races on the course at the same time. Last year was hot and they ran low on drinks by the 4th hour. If there is a wind hope it’s across the course and not against you on the straight. There is a rhythm to the course, learn it and you will have a great ride.
Rain won’t slow you down on this course. If it’s raining just tape the vents on your helmet.
The run is flat and tough on a hot or sunny day.
Don’t know why but I like it better than almost any other race.
The sunday brunch is really low key and friendly.
Best of Luck
here is a quick rr- the swim was fun and easy with the cables on the bottom to follow. The bike has the potential to be one of the fastest ever- IF the wind is in the right direction- this year we had a massive head wind on the long stretch of exposed straight road- so the bike sucked and was not very fast at all…the run was nice if you can handle the 4 loop course (wind played a factor here as well). Organization, set up, post race food, ect, all first class. If you are lucky and have a good wind day then its a PR for sure, if not, forget about it. This years average time for the Demi was something like 20 minutes slower than last years average time. Montreal is an awesome city, that was the best part of the race!
Congratulations on your finish, and thanks for the report? The way the course is set, do you get a headwind one direction and tailwind the other?
one side of the course is sheltered with trees and buildings, it is also the twisty part of the course and has the only tiny rise, we had a minor tail wind here but the turns sort of slow you down a bit, then you turn left and hit the long straight away, at that turn it was so windy I almost got blown over (I had a disc and 808 so that didnt help) . the long straight away is where you make your money- if its a tail wind here have fun b/c you will crush it. if its a head wind you will be violated and the wind will crush your dreams (depending on how strong it is of course) . it helps to train on something similar b/c you are not used to so many loops, exposure to wind in one direction so many times, passing people, ect…
Please forgive my ignorance, as the info on the Esprit website is a bit limited. How many laps of the circuit for the full distance bike ride?
40 for the full, 20 for the half
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41 laps for Esprit.
Cool map for all events at: http://www.esprittriathlon.com/fr/maps/2011_Map.pdf
Did the full Esprit, and it was a different race to any of the others I have done there. Even Danny apologised for the weather.
The swim was inexplicably slow, becasue that is the easiest swim in any race, which I can only put down to the wind (maybe?) because I thought I was going gangbusters and it was 3 mins slower than IMC just 2 weeks before. The bike was a heart breaker. The wind as you came round that last (quite fast) downhill turn, was pushing people about all over the place and I had a training wheel on the front (the cover on the back didn’t seem to be affected) . The straight was like being in a wind tunnel. Those walls either side just held the wind together, although I eventually learned to get as close to the RH wall as possible, where there seemed to be a little swirl that gave some relief. No one got under 5 hrs (I think).
Of course the wind died on the run. So by 2:0pm the sun was blazing (although in shade the air was cool) and 9 laps of that rowing basin was less fun than I had hoped.
Oh well there’s always next year and another excuse to go to Montreal (and say Hi to Larry)
After 3 years of training and racing triathon including 3 halfs, the Esprit was my 1st iron distance, and I really enjoyed it. I was very apprehensive as not only have I not raced this distance before, I wasn’t sure how the criterium style bike course would affect me mentally (i.e bored to hell).
I think the biggest challenge from the whole experience was actually getting to the race on time. We departed our accomodations 90mins from start time with the knowledge that it takes 30mins to get to the venue. After the MANY detours, we arrived to the venue with 20mins to get set up. After running around trying to be as efficient as possible, I thankfully arrived at the swim start as the 90sec warning was announced.
The swim was much slower than expected, but again it was my first time at this distance, and my goal was completing the race injury free. To that end, I kept a comfortable pace. In the end, I really enjoyed the swim. Also the cables were great to follow with minimal sighting required. For the swim, no suggestions that could make it better.
As a said, I was nervous about the potential boredom of doing 180km via many laps around a course, however I did end up enjoying it (except for the bloody headwind). It was fun being able to dive into some of the corners, although you have to be very aware of who or what may be around you, especially once the sprint racers joined the course ( there was 3 crashes from what I counted while on course). I think that the bike course was well done, however I do have a couple of observations and suggestions that I will try to pass on to the RD in hopes to make it better and/or more safe in future;
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Some pylons set up creating a lane for at least 50m that will keep people on course to the left and away from racers who are joining the course from the transition area. I observed some people coming out onto the track very fast causing some people to have to swerve to the left to miss them.
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The aid station on the bike course was set up close to a sharp turn. I noticed some people (including myself) having to rush to sort out their drink/banana to get control before the turn. By the way, the people working the aid stations were great at this event.
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While the aid stations did offer eload mixed in normal bike style water bottles, when asking for water, you receive a costco kirkland (I think) style water bottle with no top on it. That means that now I have to hold the bottle with my hand upright whilst negotiating a turn shortly thereafter. I would rather see them offer water bottle with sport tops so I can throw it in my bottle cage and go.
The run course was well done, with well placed aid stations. Also, it’s very convienient to have your special needs bag available once every lap. I can, however, and was very hot down by the olympic basin in the sun with little breeze.
I found that the transition area was well set up, and liked having the spaces allocated to each bib number in addition to each racer being provided a gear box.
Also, the venue is fantastic for spectators, as they will get to see any racers they know many many times throughout the day.
All in all, I’m glad that I picked this event for my first iron distance, and look forward to doing it again (hopefully without the headwind). I would highly recommend it to anyone.
I couldnt agree with you more…here is my small rr. I was supposed to arrive at Montreal on Thursday from San Diego. I picked this race because everybody here kept saying how fast it was… I did not get in to Montreal until Friday night at 8pm, the airlines lost and then found my bike and i didnt get to the hotel until 9pm. I then had to unpack and build my bike and so on and didnt get to sleep until 12pm and then i was up at 430am and drove off to the race site. Myself and a few others drove around aimlessly since there were virtually no signs directing us to the race site, anyway we made it and set up in time. I was so excited for the swim and it looks so easy. I was dissapointed, as were many to find out that it just wasnt that fast, my time off in the Half by anout a 1 min or 2…dont know why either- maybe the strong wind pushing the surface water? Dont know… and then the bike just sucked…The wind was so strong in our face and my back siezed up for the first time ever on a bike, it hurt so much i had to get off my bike and i nearly dnfd but decided to continue as I didnt want to drop out after all that travel. I eventually finished and got to t2 and layed on the ground for 5 minutes to stretch out my lower back. This guy was cheering me on and i felt embarrased so I decided to run and I didnt feel that bad so I just continued and was able to run 8ish mile pace to finsh in 5:19 (33/2:45/1:51) about 25 min off my PR. But considering the travel nightmare, jet lagg, wind, back pain, ect…I was very happy to finish. Montreal was awesome. The race was okay and could be fast if the winds were right, but I will not be back as I dont like the laps and variables with the wind here…anyway overall a nice trip to a cool city.