So I’ve done a couple of 70.3s on reasonably challenging courses (Zell Am See and Pula), and really enjoyed them both.
But neither of these races has given me a definitive answer to the question “what’s the absolute fastest 70.3 time I can do?”. Sure, you can compare yourself to other athletes that you competed against, but I’d love to do a super flat, super fast course to take a few variables out of the equation and work out what my ability is.
So what’s the flattest 70.3 race in Europe?
The ironman site lets you filter races by ‘Course’. One of the options is ‘Flat’. Selecting that gives 6 or so races in the US and one in Korea. So there’s your answer…
I was hurt so didn’t get to race it, but I heard the Dublin race was SUPER fast, and a great PR course.
This year I did the Ironman 70.3 Gdynia. That was a really fast course. The bike is almost pancake flat and there was very little wind, the only height difference was a highway you had to get over. The run course had 1 short hill in it (3 laps) but that didn’t really hurt my pace.
70.3 Staffordshire has been touted to us Brits as flat and fast.
However I’ve learned that British “flat” would likely be considered rolling by most foreigners. YMMV.
If you don’t fancy a 10 hour flight in either direction then it might be a good option.
Ok, here is one that I’m aware of in Seville each April:
http://www.desafiodx2.com/trisur_triatlon_evento.php?id_evento=119
It’s ridiculously flat.
River swim, there is something silly like 20ft of elevation on the bike course, and the run is lapped on the river bank (also flat).
The only downside is perhaps the heat.
The year I was there, the winner got ~3h50m, and there was no “real talent” in the race.
If you do it when you’re in good shape, then it’s a PR that I doubt you’ll ever beat without just going back there again.
If it doesn’t need to be ironman brand… Oct 18th this year ICan Gandia offers half and full distance on pan flat course.
70.3 Vichy has a super fast bike course, but it’s slightly long (93km = 58mi). anyway just 500mt = 1600ft elevation; no wind problems with 7am start
run course is a little rolling (some bridges and city part sections), but it’s nearly half mile short and with plenty of shadow. swimming times turned out to be somewhat slow (a couple of minutes)
I was hurt so didn’t get to race it, but I heard the Dublin race was SUPER fast, and a great PR course.
course was fast, but they had speed bumps on the bike course. not what i’d want on a fast course
How about Challenge Almere: http://www.challenge-almere.com/
This should definitely be a very flat race. Don’t know how fast it is though; might be windy.
Swimming and running are fast and easy. It can indeed be windy on the bike course. I did the full distance this year and the wind wasn’t that bad. I averaged 200 watt and finished in 5:10. Note that the half course is slightly longer (93km).
Non-Ironman 70.3:
Vansbro Triathlon in Sweden.
PR’d there when I raced, haven’t seen that PR again (I prefer hilly courses).
If it doesn’t need to be an Ironman brand than you should try Podersdorf Austria. Half and iron distance. Completely flat but sometimes windy. You start to ask yourself why so many wind turbines arround. Otherwise very fast course.
Challenge Poznan if it doesn’t have to be IM brand.
Lake swim in amongst bouys used for rowing races so extra help effectively laid on to make the swim straight.
Flat ride, 2 loops most of which are basically straight out, hairpin, straight back. Good fast road surface and 2 lanes wide in each direction.
Run circles the lake - has about 12ft of vertical gain in on short “hill” and then a nice steady downhill to lose that height (if you can call it that) and the rest is flat.
Nice venue as well.
How about Challenge Almere: http://www.challenge-almere.com/
This should definitely be a very flat race. Don’t know how fast it is though; might be windy.
Indeed flat but fast depending on wind conditions. Large bike part on the dikes. Running is fast.