I know there have been threads on it in the past, but wanted a nice fresh one for this year.
Both courses look to be rolling, and I have heard that Wisconsin is tougher, but here is my question from someone who has done Kentucky twice but never done Wisconsin…
How much tougher, and slower is the Wisconsin bike, how much more technical is it, and do you have any other comments on these two courses? Tips and tricks are welcome.
Wisconsin is just slightly harder, ive done louisville twice and wis once, wis was three minutes slower bike for me, i think both are overrated in difficulty
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I know there have been threads on it in the past, but wanted a nice fresh one for this year.
Both courses look to be rolling, and I have heard that Wisconsin is tougher, but here is my question from someone who has done Kentucky twice but never done Wisconsin…
How much tougher, and slower is the Wisconsin bike, how much more technical is it, and do you have any other comments on these two courses? Tips and tricks are welcome.
Haven’t done Lou yet. Doing it this year but I have done MOo twice. The thing with Wis is that there are a lot of punchy hills but you can’t take advantage of downhills. Almost every downhill ends in a 90 deg turn forcing you to ride the breaks some and it’s a technical course.
I’ve done IMWI 3 times and will be there again this year. I have not done the Barlow hill yet. I’m not loosing any sleep over that. I hold the opinion that IMWI bike course is not “RACABLE” without knowing it. There are too many points along the way that you may want to ease up because you cant see around the bend, or cant see how long that hill is, or whatever the case might be. Over 112 miles you may shift more than 1000 times. It’s a course that demands attention be paid while RACING it. I am stressing the racing aspect because anyone can ride and survive the course. The hills are real, they grind on you. IMWI 2015 bike split was 5:15.
Last fall I did IMLou. I asked around about the bike course. I took an opportunity on a family trip to drive the course early in the season. I was at ease then. I drove the course again before the race. I found the course to have only one spot where I could get myself into trouble by coming in too hot. I enjoyed the course. I found it to be mentally easier than WI. The hills didn’t bother me at all. I don’t recall how many times I had to go into the small chain ring, but I can tell you that I only ever came out of the saddle once or twice to stretch, whereas I use the small ring a lot at IMWI. 2016 bike split 5:02 with a little better aero setup and a little more fitness than 2015, same bike and almost identical weather.