Just curious about the comparison of the difficulty of the bike courses between Lake Placid and Canada. I’ve raced LP and trained on the bike course (both forward and reverse loops) several times. I’ll be doing Canada for the 1st time in a few weeks. I’d love to hear thoughts from those who have done both races. I’ve heard that climbing the Keene decent on a reverse loop is similar to the climb at Richter Pass. Overall, the impression I get is that you should take it easy until you get past Richter and that the race shouldn’t start until after the out and back section. Thanks for any feedback.
You will get different responses from different people, but for my money, LP is way harder. Way harder. Especially on the second loop. Canada is a fun course - Richter’s is a good, steady climb and Yellow Lake is fun mostly due to the crowds, but there is nothing like the will-breaking power of the climb from Wilmington to Lake Placid.
On Canada, just go smooth until you hit Richter’s. There is a temptation to hammer to Osoyoos, since it is flat and usually with the wind. You will pay for it on the rollers, the out-and-back and the climb to Yellow Lake if you don’t take it easy in the first 60km at IMC.
Have fun!
ccy
I agree with the above poster. I have done both and think that IMLP is way harder too. My split at IMC was 5:31 and at IMLP it was 6:04 or something. I may have been fatigued going into IMLP, but not 30+ minutes worth. The best thing about IMC is that once you get to 100 miles, you are home free as you can spin or not, all the way back to T2. It is all downhill after the climb. Richter is where the riding begins, and the out/back is not fun, but if you are patient you will be able to make up time on others heading up to Yellow Lake. The climb at Yellow Lake wasn’t hard but leaving the out/back and ‘getting to the climb’ at Yellow Lake was hard. Nothing like Wilmington to Lake P more like Wilmington to White Face Resort - something like that. You’ll do great at IMC, good luck.
I haven’t done both, but a training buddy has and he said LP is harder.
Rich, check this out: http://www.byrn.org/gtips/imc_tips.htm
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I’ve done IMC 5 times and LP 6 times. All my IMC splits are between 5:22 and 5:40 (average of 5:30) . All my LP splits are between 5:39 and 5:51. Do the math and you get a 15 min difference. But the big difference is not in the bike split but the impact on the run. I strongly believe there is a further 10 min “trash factor” at LP as you start the run totally cooked from all the bike uphill into town. At IMC, 30 K of downhill to unwind.
By the way, at IMC, the race starts once you start climbing Yellow Lakes. Don’t believe anyone who says it starts earlier. Up till then, it is a huge warmup swim-ride.
Dev
LP is an ass kicker. I have done Canada 2x and LP 4x and LP is harder. No question about it.
Michael, infinIT Nutrition
Just curious about the comparison of the difficulty of the bike courses between Lake Placid and Canada. I’ve raced LP and trained on the bike course (both forward and reverse loops) several times. I’ll be doing Canada for the 1st time in a few weeks. I’d love to hear thoughts from those who have done both races. I’ve heard that climbing the Keene decent on a reverse loop is similar to the climb at Richter Pass.
I’ve only done the Keene descent as a descent, but it sure seems like climbing up that monster would be tougher than Richter. Richter has this reputation of being really killer, but truly, it’s just long (something like six miles). It’s not really that steep, and there are flat spots to break it up. Plus you hit it pretty darned fresh after the 40-mile joyride from Penticton to Osoyoos.
And Yellow Lake? Yeah, it’s tough that it hits you at ~90 miles, and it’s certainly steeper than Richter, but it ain’t nothing like the Wilmington-Placid climb. Hmm, let’s see: a ~15 mile downhill cruise with 1-2 miles of flat-to-slightly-uphill-into-a-headwind finish, versus the Wilmington-to-Placid climb with ~1 mile semi-flat into T2? No contest!
Now that I think about it, I’m damned proud I ever actually finished that bloody race (especially in that bleeping downpour). Hey, I ROCK! 
If you train regularly on the LP course, you’re gonna love the IMC course, it’ll be a cakewalk. Enjoy it, it’s really, really fun! Best race on the planet.
TriBaby
I think Dev hits it right on the head…although I have only done IMC 4 times and LP x 1. Please scorch in your mind that at LP the bike does not start until at least the out and back; and, that the very very long, very gradual climb to twins lakes and then yellow lake will kill you if you don’t have gas in the tank. I think it is much harder than anything LP has to offer BUT you do get the 18k downhill to loosen up and get ready for the run. All of my run PRs are on that course.
I LOVE IMC!!! Have a great time!
thanks everyone and great feedback from all. i figure i’ll ride at a low heart rate (120-130) prior to richter, and then keep it in the granny 34-25 and spin up the climb at a blistering 6-7mph (though i could switch the computer to km so i can feel better to see double digits for the speedometer!), then keep a controlled moderate effort heading towards yellow lake.
p.s. - dev paul…you guys were freaking animals riding up whiteface, then riding up keene! that explains how you guys kicked ass at LP! i climbed up keene twice this past weekend. man, that wasn’t fun. though it did help having a new r2.5 as a toy to play with riding the course.