Hello! I have a client who signed up for IMMT. She has done Wisconsin. I have done IMWI but never IMMT. I am wondering if anyone can provide any insights on the bike courses and how they compare. I noticed on the course layout that IMMT is hilly with 1800ft more gain than IMWI. However, despite the additional ascending, the bike splits seem to be faster on average at IMMT. From what I have gathered thus far, I think it is due to less technical descents and turns and a smoother bike surface. Would anyone be able to confirm this and/or add to the discussion? Thanks!
I’ve done both and I think your perception is about right. IM Wisconsin it is constantly up and down, there aren’t really any places where you can knock out a bunch of miles quickly. Tremblant the climbing is more limited to parts of the course while other parts of the course are faster. The better pavement in MT also makes a significant difference.
I did both races this year, Mt Tremblant 70.3 actually. IM Wisconsin bike course is harder IMO. Reasons are the course is more open in rural Wisconsin. Roads are smoother in Mt Tremblant. Also, the first 10 or so km to get out of Madison are just a zigzag of bad road surfaces and turns. None of that at Mt Tremblant. Both are awesome venues.
I have done IMWI once and IMMT twice as full and twice as 703 (I like it there!).
As other have said, IMMT bike course is faster because of a few things like a smoother road surface, less turns but also because the course is short by maybe 1.5 to 2km.
Other than that, they feel different in the fact that in Wisconsin there are constant rollers and IIRC there’s only a small section when you can put your head down and fall into a groove. IMMT is not like that, long sections where you can find your rhythm and hold it; That being said, the back end of the bike course there is a succession of steeper hills that hits you pretty bad on the second loop if you did not pace well or does not have the proper fitness; Seen people walking beside their bikes there hehe! You have to make sure you are greared and ready for it; But once you turn around, you have a net downhill section to make it easy on the legs before T2 and the run.
Personally, I like the IMMT bike course a lot better. Hope this helps!
Hello! I have a client who signed up for IMMT. She has done Wisconsin. I have done IMWI but never IMMT. I am wondering if anyone can provide any insights on the bike courses and how they compare. I noticed on the course layout that IMMT is hilly with 1800ft more gain than IMWI. However, despite the additional ascending, the bike splits seem to be faster on average at IMMT. From what I have gathered thus far, I think it is due to less technical descents and turns and a smoother bike surface. Would anyone be able to confirm this and/or add to the discussion? Thanks!
Adam good to hear you are alive and well and still coaching. IMMT is definitely less rolling but has more sustained climbs in Dupleiss. I think the turns are a big deal. There are very few place you would use a brake lever on IMMT but Ironman Wisconsin has quite a few places I would see someone using a brake. Little sections like the first five miles of IMWI are a good example of speed lost. Coming into the underpass and onto the bike path, the bike path itself, that first hill over the Beltline, where you pick up a lot of speed and then have a sharp right turn at the very bottom. All examples were you scrub and waste a lot of speed.
Thanks everyone for the quick response to my question about IMMT and IMWI. This is very helpful.
Thomas! Good to hear from you. Hope you are doing well.
-Adam
Going to piggyback off this thread if you don’t mind…
How enjoyable is it to ride the IMMOO bike course in say the summer? I already signed up for the 2020 race and have family in the Chicago area so am debating if a summer trip is in order to visit some family and ride the course a bit beforehand. I’m not familiar with the Madison area or the bike course at all.
There is a coffee shop/ bike shop in Verona called N+1. Best place to park and ride the ~40mi loop of the Wisconsin course. Also, there is a lake for ows across the street from N+1 so a lot of groups do sim days from there. The ‘stick’ is fairly unremarkable and gets you from Madison downtown out to Verona… you’ll want to ride ‘the loop’ if you come up here.
Solo from N+1, you will always see dozens of folks out training during the weekend and plenty of gas stations. Or for group, google Wisconsin Brick Adventure for the 2020 dates or look into some of the sim days Madison Multisport or Blake Becker’s group put on later in the summer if you want a more supported simulation day/ weekend.
There is a coffee shop/ bike shop in Verona called N+1. Best place to park and ride the ~40mi loop of the Wisconsin course. Also, there is a lake for ows across the street from N+1 so a lot of groups do sim days from there. The ‘stick’ is fairly unremarkable and gets you from Madison downtown out to Verona… you’ll want to ride ‘the loop’ if you come up here.
Solo from N+1, you will always see dozens of folks out training during the weekend and plenty of gas stations. Or for group, google Wisconsin Brick Adventure for the 2020 dates or look into some of the sim days Madison Multisport or Blake Becker’s group put on later in the summer if you want a more supported simulation day/ weekend.
Great info. Thanks!
Going to piggyback off this thread if you don’t mind…
How enjoyable is it to ride the IMMOO bike course in say the summer? I already signed up for the 2020 race and have family in the Chicago area so am debating if a summer trip is in order to visit some family and ride the course a bit beforehand. I’m not familiar with the Madison area or the bike course at all.
There is some really nice riding up there in the summer. Lots of options that just tangentially touch the Ironman course too if you want to mix it up. Fireman’s park is where everyone tends to park. I do think everyone should ride the stick at least once. There is a lot of free speed to be had learning that part of the course.
Going to piggyback off this thread if you don’t mind…
How enjoyable is it to ride the IMMOO bike course in say the summer? I already signed up for the 2020 race and have family in the Chicago area so am debating if a summer trip is in order to visit some family and ride the course a bit beforehand. I’m not familiar with the Madison area or the bike course at all.
There is some really nice riding up there in the summer. Lots of options that just tangentially touch the Ironman course too if you want to mix it up. Fireman’s park is where everyone tends to park. I do think everyone should ride the stick at least once. There is a lot of free speed to be had learning that part of the course.
You’re from the area, right?
Are there any weekends or events in the summer you’d suggest planning a weekend around?
I have done IMWI once and IMMT twice as full and twice as 703 (I like it there!).
As other have said, IMMT bike course is faster because of a few things like a smoother road surface, less turns but also because the course is short by maybe 1.5 to 2km.
Other than that, they feel different in the fact that in Wisconsin there are constant rollers and IIRC there’s only a small section when you can put your head down and fall into a groove. IMMT is not like that, long sections where you can find your rhythm and hold it; That being said, the back end of the bike course there is a succession of steeper hills that hits you pretty bad on the second loop if you did not pace well or does not have the proper fitness; Seen people walking beside their bikes there hehe! You have to make sure you are greared and ready for it; But once you turn around, you have a net downhill section to make it easy on the legs before T2 and the run.
Personally, I like the IMMT bike course a lot better. Hope this helps!
Whenever hills and elevation gain are discussed, it’s almost always related to climbing. But I’m interested in hearing about DESCENDING. What is it like for IMMT? I did St. George last weekend and was terrified going 52mph down descents in wet roads. I’m not in an area with a lot of hills to get comfortable on something like that. I’ve done Augusta and Chattanooga 70.3’s where I both hit 40+mph. But neither have long stretches of sustained descents where the speed is peeling the skin off your face. It sounds like IMMT has a lot of nice roads and you can actually pedal for most of it? Again, St. G just felt like I was either hammering it up a hill or hanging on bombing down a descent. Little time actually being able to get into a groove and just pedal.
Well, first of all, right now there are no further IMMT planned… The contract between MT and IM has expired, and from what I hear, it does NOT look good for a renewal (soon anyway). Even heard rumors of Challenge?
This is why after the cancelled events this year, there was no option to defer to next year, and they are supposed to repay us the signup fees… But I do really hope IM comes back, even if it is after a year hiatus. Love this race, and works well to go see my family in Quebec afterwards.
A friend that is a local there ended up signing up for IMLP since it really looked like no IMMT next year.
As far as the descents, what was scary in Saint-George was both the fact the roads were wet but mostly the crazy wind gusts. I’ve never been so scared on a bike before. I’ve been in Kona 4 times, and while I am sure the winds can get even crazier there on the descent from Hawiii, it was never so bad on race day and by a long shot.
I am also scared shitless on steep technical descents (I was not big in my shoes at IM70.3WC Nice and would never be fast on such course).
But IMMT is really not an issue. The downhills are relatively short, pavement is good (or was before the flash flood this summer?!) and not really technical. No sharp turns or switchbacks going down. Really a non issue in my book.
Hope this helps!
Interesting, because a lot of talk on the FB sites about how the mayor has said it is coming back and just working out details… Hard to know who to believe.
As for descending in IMMT, I agree, really no big deal, couple of sweeping turns to pay attention on, especially if wet, but otherwise non-issue.
My information is several weeks old, and not from any “inner circles”, just a local AG athlete.
The FB thread snapshot you link with 2 different people saying they have contacts saying it is getting close to an agreement, look promising! Crossing fingers! I would be down for the 70.3 in my race calendar 
My information is several weeks old, and not from any “inner circles”, just a local AG athlete.
The FB thread snapshot you link with 2 different people saying they have contacts saying it is getting close to an agreement, look promising! Crossing fingers! I would be down for the 70.3 in my race calendar
Believe me, I’m not taking it as gospel! Seems to flip flop over and over again from ‘Its done, the locals hate it’, to ‘Challenge is taking it over’, to ‘I heard its coming back for sure’…lol
I’m registered for Placid, and I’ll do Tremblant as well (slowly…) if it comes back.
Well, first of all, right now there are no further IMMT planned… The contract between MT and IM has expired, and from what I hear, it does NOT look good for a renewal (soon anyway). Even heard rumors of Challenge?
This is why after the cancelled events this year, there was no option to defer to next year, and they are supposed to repay us the signup fees… But I do really hope IM comes back, even if it is after a year hiatus. Love this race, and works well to go see my family in Quebec afterwards.
A friend that is a local there ended up signing up for IMLP since it really looked like no IMMT next year.
As far as the descents, what was scary in Saint-George was both the fact the roads were wet but mostly the crazy wind gusts. I’ve never been so scared on a bike before. I’ve been in Kona 4 times, and while I am sure the winds can get even crazier there on the descent from Hawiii, it was never so bad on race day and by a long shot.
I am also scared shitless on steep technical descents (I was not big in my shoes at IM70.3WC Nice and would never be fast on such course).
But IMMT is really not an issue. The downhills are relatively short, pavement is good (or was before the flash flood this summer?!) and not really technical. No sharp turns or switchbacks going down. Really a non issue in my book.
Hope this helps!
Awesome, thanks for the insight. Luckily St. G wasn’t “technicalâ€. I’m just not super comfortable hurtling towards terminal velocity for a couple miles at a time on a bicycle. Sounds like the downhill sections are more of a quick burst instead of long sustained stretches
The IMMT course has a long perfectly straight downhill stretch on the highway where you can easily hit 80-90 kph. Can cause some butt puckering if you get a strong side wind gust. All other descents are short, and protected from the wind by trees.