I will be doing Im Austria this year, it wont be my first IM, but it is my first destination IM. I am looking to know what your experience was like? What is bike course like? Any good tips/suggestions or good pacing strategy? Any good place to rent the wheels out there? I am flying to Vienna and then taking the train to Klagenfurt. I ma really looking forward to this race.
I did this one several years ago and it is one of my favorite trips ever. The swim is spectacular and the water is clean enough to drink, a friend of mine did during the swim! Be prepared for the “salmon spawing” experince of the canal swim at the end, though. The bike course is (was?) two big loops through several small villages where everyone comes out to spectate; very Tour-de-France-esque. There is also a huge sunflower field. The veiws are amazing. There are a few climbs, but nothing too savage. The run loops through the town of Klagenfurt and along the lake, and again tons of enthusiastic spectators.
Klagenfurt is a small town and when I was there, not everyone spoke english, so it helps to know some German.
Welcome to Austria:-)
I did the IMA two times.
The swim:
The Wörthersee is a realy nice lake with good waterconditions, easy course, only the last 1000m you have to swim in a channel with 20m wide, this makes it a little tight and it is nearly impossible to overtake.
The bike:
Two hilly rounds, the first 15km it goes along the lake, perfekt to roll up. The rest of the course is a repitition of steep climps and long drown descents folown by flat sections. A good strategy is to take the climps slow (1st gear) and comfortable in an effektive climbing position and use the long drawn descents to speed up and try to take along the high speed in the flat sections, try to be so aero as possible. The hardest climp is the Rupertiberg on km 63 and km126. Be careful, the climp has two steps, the first will be more steep towards to the top (i will be there to cheer 
and the second is short but steep. But all in all it is a really fast course with beautiful sights.
The run:
Not much to say. Two flat rounds with many viewers everywhere, on hot days showers on the most exposed/hotest sektions.
Have a nice race and stay in Austria.
I’m eyeing this race too. I’ve done IMCDA and IMSG and want IMA to be my full distance swan song. Looks super scenic.
Pic of the channel, as you can see, there is a little bit of trafik
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/...146199_4697343_n.jpg
A short vid from on of the smaler climbs after a downhill section. When you know this sections you can use the speed and jump over the hill:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvacimfwwLk
I’ve also done IM Austria twice. The swim is the one of the most beautiful I have done. A friend of mine doing the race, said she stopped about half way thru and just treaded water for a minute to take it all in. The castles around the lake are pretty cool. Coming into the canal get tight but you can feel your speed increase. Very fast swim. My IM PR both times. The bike course is also very scenic and fast. The run is flat and scenic also with lots of crowd support. IM Austria is an awesome venue and race. I intend to go back for third time so my wife can race it. She broke her arm in a bike crash 3 weeks before the race and was not able to start. We both love Klagenfurt. It also has great train service for touring Italy after the race if you have time.
Also doing it this year. Hope it’s not too hot
The train is TOUGH with a bike case, worth shipping it out there to meet you.
Locals love the race, and it’s a fantastic event.
I think the bike might be 3 loops now, but it’s great. Plenty of reasonable climbing/descending with ample fast time…it’s a fast course but hard. (sorry that’s a confusing description).
The run is awesome…very fast but can be hot.
My only caveat is check on course nutrition and make sure you have a plan…and have fun!
Based on last two years, this race sells out in about a week, right?
What are the options other than the train? I’ve heard the large triall3 case won’t work on the train. Someone said I can pay someone transport it via truck?
Could you please elaborate on what you mean when you state the train is tough with a bike case? I am flying into Munich and out of Vienna and was planning on taking the train to and from Klagenfurt with my bike, so am curious as to your experience. Thanks.
FYI, I believe the bike course is (remains?) two loops: http://www.ironmanaustria.at/
The train was recommended to me by a reputable source vs a connecting flight. Getting in on Thursday before the race into Vienna and taking the train. Can’t wait!!
The course and the whole area are really stunning. You will not be able to get the smile off your face on the climbs because of the cheering spectators. It’s worth learning enough German to get through the aid stations and learn your race # in German so you can get your bag at special needs if you are using special needs. I think the biggest challenge is trying not to train while you are there - you are going to want to bike the course and swim in that lake because it is just such a nice place to train.
I fly into Munich and got to Klagenfurt by train. I have some issues with the bike case as I was traveling second class and there were too many passengers around in second class. It makes finding a space to put your bike case difficult. I had to hop from cabin to cabin lugging a huge bike case.
My friend who traveled by train on first class didnt have any issues as there were very few passengers traveling first class.
1st class tickets for the train is a good solution, iam shure you will have enough space for your bike in the 1st class and it is not much more expensive as an 2nd class ticket.
also an option is this
http://ironmanklagenfurt.com/athletes/bike-shipping/
First class should solve it…I went in '05 with a big bike box and it was stuck in between train cars and the conductor kept trying to toss it off at each station = not fun!
Here’s my race report from 2011. It was my first Ironman and it was an amazing experience!!
I hope you are not going there to try and qualify for Kona. I finished in 9:30 and only placed around 40th in the M35-39 AG. Very tough competition there!!! I would highly recommend this race to anyone though!!!
Beautiful just as everyone has said! One loop swim with the finish in the canal. People stand on the bridges and cheer as you swim under:). Bike has a few good small ring climbs but the last part of each loop in downhill! Tdf type scenery. Run can be brutally hot, but the fan support is amazing. Great bike shop downtown. Friendly town with a laid back vibe. You will love, love, love it!!!
First class it is then! Should make the wife happy. Thanks.
I did it last year and so my experience was really dominated by the heat. Wow, humans aren’t meant to run in that. Non wetsuit and 42 degrees C at one point on the run course, lots of people struggled and were walking. But!! It was a bit of a one-off, the guy who owned the apartments we stayed in (Appartements Lach in Krumpendorff = awesome) has been doing the event for the last 15 years and says it has never been that hot, so you should have a better time of it!!
Summary - nearly the best most amazing day ever, 2nd only to birth of my daughter!
Swim - as mentioned 1 loop. Sighting the buoys is really difficult. I wanted to do a recce but they never laid the course out until the night before so it wasn’t possible, shame as I think I ended up swimming long I think. As mentioned the canal, wow, what a crowd. We were literally standing at one point waiting to get in!!
Swim advice - if they lay the course out do a recce, take a boat out and spot the landmarks at the turns. At the very least if they don’t lay the course out, go for a pint at the bar/restaurant at the canal entrance. Swim out a couple hundred metres and look back, make a note of where the entrance is. This made a hell of a difference, a lot of people swam wide and missed the entrance. Tell your friends to head to the canal to watch, mine spotted me in the water and managed to get a few photos, amazing!!
Bike - an amazing course, 2 identical laps last year. Take it easy up the Rupertiberg climb and enjoy the long long descent back to the lake, it’s a short climb but a lovely long payoff. Last year at the intersection in Rosegg (you go through twice per loop) I saw this bandy armed crazy legs crane looking woman waving a Union Jack flag and shouting encouragement at me, turned out it was Chrissie the reigning world champ!! Anyway, you’ll love the bike. Rosegg is a great place for your friends/other half to get a beer and cheer you on if they want to drive out onto the course. In fairness, you can spectate very well from the Europapark as the race dips in and out of here, especially on the run.
Run - flat, fast, two “figure-8” loops. It is roughly broken up into a longer loop out into Krumpendorff and back of a bit more than a 10k, then a shorter loop into Klag town centre and back of a bit less than 10k. It really helped mentally to think of it as 4x 10k quarters, especially when you hit the dreaded 18-20 mile mark but, so what, you’ve only got a 10k or so left and you run those twice a week in training, right?!! Make use of the locals and their garden hoses, total lifesaver last year. Enjoy running into the town square and by the Lundwurm, the crowds are awesome. Look for the shade on the loop into town, I recall there were trees towards the river.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - RING THE BELL!!!
Also, go for dinner at the SeeTerrasse in Krumpendorff, it is lovely. And if you have time try and get a trip up the Villacher Alpinestrausse (Villach Alpine Road) although you will probably need a car unless you recover well and fancy riding it!! It’s an incredible alpine road, there is a lovely restaurant at the top, there is a viewing point where you can see 3 different countries at the same time, and the site of the world’s largest landslip (I think)!!
My race piccies to give you a taste. Oh, and get your friends to write messages of encouragement on the run course in Europapark, it’s a real morale booster!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82472806@N03/sets/72157630543455054/
Very very jealous. Good luck, Rich.