Hi All, for those that have done IMMT, any training tips? I’ve done 2 other full distance IM’s (Louisville + Chattanooga). Looking for specific advice on the bike leg with all those climbs (~6K elevation gain). Any specific training/racing tips for that course? Thanks!
Hi All, for those that have done IMMT, any training tips? I’ve done 2 other full distance IM’s (Louisville + Chattanooga). Looking for specific advice on the bike leg with all those climbs (~6K elevation gain). Any specific training/racing tips for that course? Thanks!
Only comments from me are
-Have the right gearing. Having to grind the last climb up Duplessis is brutal if you run out of gears. Do a simulation before race day to make sure you can maintain target watts with your choices.
-There is a stretch, let’s say 15km before the turnaround and the 15km back where aero is super important and lots of time can be made there.
-Learn to descend at high speed in super aero. There are a few spots you can be flying.
I find the course looks much tougher on paper.
Agreed on the gearing point - I added a 32 when I did the race and was incredibly thankful on the second lap going up Duplessis.
That said, I thought they were looking at a new bike course for both the 70.3 and Full this year. No maps on the Ironman site yet.
Third on the gearing. Raced the 70.3 last year and you will def want to be prepared to have some gas in the tank for some significant climbing the last 5-10 miles of each loop. Run is also a bit more rolling than I originally though from looking at the race website, etc. but most of it is in the first/last 5k.
Have done both MT and Louisville. Nothing similar between them. MT was a far better experience as the swim start is a better setup and you don’t have to worry about the dammed dam., the roads are closed in MT and smooth, in Louisville they weren’t, I ended up overtaking a bus on the inside on a single lane road and some stupid truck coal rolled us plus, the roadwork areas were fun.
The hill at the end of the loop in MT was easy on the first loop and deadly on the 2nd, not to mention the long hill on the highway that would have killed Sisyphus. If it’s the same course as I did when you go make sure you have an 11 and a 32 and if you have a 12 speed go find a 10. I got cocky and ended up walking a couple of hundred meters when I cramped on the hill on the 2nd loop. Learn to be comfortable above 70kph, there are two places where that’s easily exceeded and one of them on the highway is more a couple of Kms long. Remember that it’s the same long climb back up so be comfortable with a really long (boring) climb and a less boring, because it comes in steps, climb at the end of the loop. There is a “no overtaking” section on the downhill where you might be doing 70k and coming up on someone on the brakes doing 45k. Such is life.
The run in MT is mostly on a trail that is easy on the eyes, although the rolling hills at the end of the loop were tricky in the dark (I’m slow) and hard work.
And you won’t need google to find the bike racks when you finish.
The MT village is awesome and the local people very enthusiastic and it’s Quebec, they know how to cook. I didn’t stay in the resort village (I’m also cheap) and the transit and parking they arranged at the local grass strip airport, worked well if you were coming up from the actual town of Mont Tremblant, which is a few K to the south. Although staying in the resort would have been easier.
I love Quebec so I might be biased…:0)
Bon Chance!
I did MT in 2019. Awesome course. The village and race experience are fantastic. My advice would be to know your FTP and your upper limit for race day and stick to it. The hilly course makes it really easy to burn matches.
Well, the new bike course has been posted. For those that have done it, what changed?
I’ve done CHOO, LOU and MT each twice…. Amazing courses in their own rights. In regard to MT, for me the biggest difference being that last bike climb at MT…… as much as i plan for that second time up that climb, and as much as i think i enjoyed the first loop climb, that second loop climb, UGH!! .…. In my mind, that second bike climb is akin to the second time on Barton at CHOO … the swim at MT may very well be second to none, and the run is not to be taken lightly as the beginning and ending of each lap can be challenging… anyone considering MT should definitely do it because it is an awesome venue, extremely well organized, and the course is very honest. You’re going to love it.
Looks more or less the same to me? In any way that would matter. This is 70.3 ride from last year:
but looks like a trip down to 117, out to the north, small jog south before turnaround, back past transition and up towards Lac Superior
My first thought was holy crap I don’t remember 6000 metres of climbing on the bike. LOL. I remember scary downhills but I am not a good descender. And walking up the last steep hill.
Thanks again for all the input and advice. Just to be clear, it sounds like the challenging sections on the bike course are as follows:
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The “long boring climb” is after your turn off Montee Ryan and onto 117 (the highway) on your way out
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The “long steep climb” (1.3 miles @ ~4-6% incline) is after your back on Montee Ryan and working your way back towards the lake/transition area
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The “short punchy hills” are after you’ve passed the lake/transition area onto Chenin Dupressis and before the last turnaround
Do I have that correct?
Also, it seems most have recommended going 11x30 (my Di2 short cage can accommodate) or 11x32 (long cage swap needed) over a 11x28 (on my bike now) to help with the hills. Anyone take MT on with a 11x28 cassette? I’ve got a 50/34 small chainring upfront as reference.
Thanks again all! If you can’t tell, I’m very excited to take on the challenge of MT and take in all the experience has to offer.
Gearing will depend on your FTP. I used 53/39 and 11-28 when I raced there four times, but I have a decent FTP. The bike course is deceptively fast. I recorded my fastest IM bike split there of 4:51, but I seem to only pick hilly bike courses!
Run is also quite hilly, at least the section from the village out to the bike trail. Bike trail for the run is a bit of a false flat, so make sure you adjust your pace a bit there depending on the slight up or down. It’s too easy to go hard - I made that mistake my first time racing the IM there in 2013 and went from feeling great to struggling to finish.
I think your assessment is semi-accurate - I’d describe as follows.
In my opinion, here is how I’d describe things:
- You climb up Montee Ryan from about 4 to 9 miles (slightly rolling with a few breaks). (about a 6-7.5% grade)
- at 9 you go downhill for about 2 miles, and then onto 117.
- 117 is a long “climb” (but more of a rolling to false flat) to about mile 20 where you turn around. (rolling up to about 4% grade)
- From mile 20, you go back the same way on 117 to about 31 miles.
- At 31, you get back off of 117 to Montee Ryan and climb back up that same downhill from #2 and then go back the same way you came out.
- At 40 miles, then you hit some rollers/ and then hit the **steepest **section at about mile 46 to 49. The climb pretty much goes for 2 miles and then you get some relief and then climb more to the turnaround. (peaks 12%, then back down to around 5%, then another peak of 14% before the rest are around 5% before the turnaround).
- the last 5 miles of each lap are pretty much downhill.
- Rinse and repeat the whole course (I had it short the last time I competed, it was a total of 110 miles)
To comment on steepness, I personally felt the ones on Duplessis (#6) were the worst and have the highest grade as listed above. I had to get out of the saddle the second lap for sure for those, but not any others. Those punchy hills just suck the life out of you on the second loop.
I’m on the lower side of FTP, did the course in about 6.5 hours last time, I will be running a compact 34/50 with an 11-34 cassette. I will use all my gears.
The “long steep climb” is actually on 117 coming back into town (just after La Conception) - mile 32/ 88ish.
The punchy hills are on Chem. Duplessis – on the way out on Duplessis, it’s a series of short, sharp hills in the context of a gradual climb. Kind of like a staircase, with a net elevation gain. The way back in on Duplessis is more downhill, but still has some nasty stingers. I’ve seen 12% grades pop up briefly on my Garmin, but just for very short sections of those climbs.
I’ve ridden the MT course many times with a standard crankset (53/39) and 11-28 cassette (and a few times with an 11-25 in training)) and been just fine. It depends on your cycling strength, but an 11x32 seems like overkill to me unless you really struggle with hills. Your gearing will matter the most on Ch. Duplessis - the hills on 117 and Montee Ryan are more long rollers and not all that steep. For reference, the “long steep climb” out of La Conception on the 117 is 6%-ish at the bottom and flattens to 4% or so.
To me, it’s one of the best courses and events on the circuit, and Mont-Tremblant is a really special place. Great choice!
Hi All, for those that have done IMMT, any training tips? I’ve done 2 other full distance IM’s (Louisville + Chattanooga). Looking for specific advice on the bike leg with all those climbs (~6K elevation gain). Any specific training/racing tips for that course? Thanks!
I wrote this article for Slowtwitch at the dawn of the internet in 2013 (OK not quite, CERN invented the hypertext transfer protocol in 1989):
https://www.slowtwitch.com/Lifestyle/Ironman_Mt_Tremblant_guide_3818.html
The article is largely unchanged 10 years later. Most of the course is roughly the same, at least all the hard parts on both bike and run. Swim is roughly identical too.
There is no rocket science to this course or any 70.3 or full IM course. For half IM, you just ride at 85% FTP and get enough gears so you can do that on the steep parts, don’t spike it much over 100% on the steepest. Do the run at your moderately hard running pace that you would do a fast training 10km at
Full IM, ride it at 70% FTP and try to keep short duration spikes below 90%Do the full marathon and you day in day out jogging pace and you’re a superhero.
Swim, in half IM, you’re over coooking it if you can’t keep your current pace breathing every 3 strokes. Full IM, you test yourself if you are overcooking by breathing every 4 strokes (does not mean you breath that little, but the test will tell you if you are…you don’t have a powermeter or gps for swim…and almost everyone overcooks the swim).
You can literally do any course on earth blind never seeing the course if you just follow these basics of pacing. Its not rocket science but we all overthink it. The limitatin is our phyiology and pacing. The course just makes the duration longer or shorter, but our pace is the pace is the pace is the pace. You can’t gain magically increase your theshold in any sport on race day…that was finalized 2 weeks before the race.
Well, the new bike course has been posted. For those that have done it, what changed?
Seems the same
Common sense i guess, but watch out on the out and back if it’s wet like it was in 2016 - very slick asphalt on an already technical segment. Some folks sliding off.
The “long steep climb” is actually on 117 coming back into town (just after La Conception) - mile 32/ 88ish.
The punchy hills are on Chem. Duplessis – on the way out on Duplessis, it’s a series of short, sharp hills in the context of a gradual climb. Kind of like a staircase, with a net elevation gain. The way back in on Duplessis is more downhill, but still has some nasty stingers. I’ve seen 12% grades pop up briefly on my Garmin, but just for very short sections of those climbs.
I’ve ridden the MT course many times with a standard crankset (53/39) and 11-28 cassette (and a few times with an 11-25 in training)) and been just fine. It depends on your cycling strength, but an 11x32 seems like overkill to me unless you really struggle with hills. Your gearing will matter the most on Ch. Duplessis - the hills on 117 and Montee Ryan are more long rollers and not all that steep. For reference, the “long steep climb” out of La Conception on the 117 is 6%-ish at the bottom and flattens to 4% or so.
To me, it’s one of the best courses and events on the circuit, and Mont-Tremblant is a really special place. Great choice!
To each their own, but I’ve done the course several times with a 28 on the back, and eventually switched to a 32 which I much prefer for those hills going up to Lac Superior. I think it def helped me to avoid some of the leg cramping I was getting on the run in previous years. With the 28 I was grinding a bit on the steep sections. That said, at 5’10 180’ish I’m certainly not the strongest climber. Someone weighing 150-160, and/or a really strong biker, could prob be fine with harder gears…