I’m looking for a full distance race to do next year and am considering IM Wisconsin. Hearing about some of the IM bike courses with harrowing descents (Nice) and courses open to traffic has me leery of signing up just yet. Is there anything like that to consider on the Wisconsin course?
I did IM Muskoka in 2015, which if I remember correctly had one lane blocked off with traffic cones during portions of the course on the highway. I felt fine with that, if that’s what people mean by open to traffic. Wisconsin would work out well for me as I have family in Madison.
Just did it yesterday. Nice course that keeps you honest with rolling hills and a total elevation gain around 5000ft. No crazy descents like Nice. So as long as you aren’t looking for an easy course this is a good one. It was open to traffic but I didn’t run into any issues, I had more issues with traffic in Louisville but that is N=1. I’ve done Texas and saw more crashes on a closed course than this open one.
It’s a fun race with a good atmosphere and easy logistics.
**I’m looking for a full distance race to do next year and am considering IM Wisconsin. Hearing about some of the IM bike courses with harrowing descents (Nice) and courses open to traffic has me leery of signing up just yet. Is there anything like that to consider on the Wisconsin course? **
If they are still running the IM Wisco course from a few years ago, I would categorize it as deceptively hard! There are no really big climbs, but you are relentlessly going up and down small to medium sized hills for much of the course. It’s the kind of course that can really catch up with you, if you don’t know how to dose the effort properly.
It’s mostly out in the farming country to the west of Madison - other than support/media/race vehicles on the road, from what I remember, there is very light traffic.
On one of the medium sized hills there is a full-on party scene, Barb-B-Que’s, loud music, crazy people cheering - a mini version of the Solarar Berg from Challenge Roth as I seem to recall.
The course itself is hard, but not dangerous. There is only one descent where you don’t see how long it is behind the curve and it’s kinda scary. The rest is fine. It’s mostly hard because of a lot of turns and a lot of rolling hills.
Majority of it is not closed, but it’s not an issue, the traffic is very low.
Road quality is sucky. It’s not a 3rd world or Massachusetts level of pot holes, but it’s rough. A lot of roads have those weird little trenches every 5 yard or so, so tighten all bolts and prepare your ass for beating. There is ~5mi section of loose gravel asphalt. There is a railway crossing where I got my first flat in a race ever, yey!
But overall experience is very positive, I’d repeat!
I believe most of it is open to traffic, but was better than any other full I’ve done in that regard.
The roads are mostly pretty rough with a mixture of chip seal and pea gravel, but has a few smooth fast sections as well. There’s also a number of narrow bike path/sidewalk sections to slow you down. If you aren’t trying to kill the course, then none of it is dangerous. If you are really gunning it, don’t know the course, and it rains, then that would be a recipe for a crash. Otherwise, one of the safer courses on the whole.
Just wanted to say great race man - I can’t imagine riding that course @ 24 MPH.
I was looking at your rig you had parked by the IronKids run on Saturday, pretty sweet setup. How is your comfort level riding that narrow of an arm position for an extended period of time? I tried to bring my elbows in closer over the winter, but my shoulders weren’t having any of it lol.
Thanks! That course definitely sucks down the average speed. Especially after getting used to being able to tt straight farm roads in CO.
Am super comfortable on that set up. I can tt just about all day without issues in that position at this point. If I’m forced to look up a ton then my neck could get sore, but that’s about it. I’ve considered narrower, but I’m already squeezing my double bta setup with my arms as is and would potentially lose some stability.
I was concerned about being shaken around in aero on that course, but lowering the tire pressure enough really smoothed it out.
I would recommend doing IMMT. The roads are in perfect shape and no traffic. The town is amazing, they love having IM there. Swim and run courses are perfect. Lots of shade on the run. I would rate it 10/10.