Tremblant 70.3 Swim and Bike Situation - what do you do?!

Triathlon Forum
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I participated in MT 70.3. Man that was wild. I was one of the AGers that actually did the swim. I had trouble locating the second red turn buoy. The chop was insane. And when I went into a breast stroke to get a sense of what bloody direction I needed to take the rain was pelting my face. But honestly all in all it worked out okay and I finished the swim. Most AGers in my category had much slower times than usual. Also, we didn’t have a clue about the distance change. From the beach we could see the red turn buoys were brought closer, and I think some announcement in French was made, but some people were claiming it was “1170” and others saying it was “1700”. I could tell from the red buoys it was significantly shorter.

I heard some athletes were refusing to enter the water - is that true? Then shortly after they cancelled the swim. Not sure of the precise sequence as I was already in the water trying to complete a half-decent swim!

For the bike, we all checked in our bikes as per usual but it was expected to pour rain overnight and into the morning. I didn’t cover my bike. Many people did. I wandered over to the pro section to see what they were doing. Most pros I felt did cover their bikes to some degree. But then I noticed Paula F and Lionel S didn’t cover theirs at all. Ironically enough, they both took first place.

What is the official wisdom here? Should we actually cover our bikes or does it not make any difference? I noticed orange residue on my chair when I got home. I went to my local bike guy and it sprayed it down with a solvent and cleaned it all up. It wasn’t officially rusted but probably on its way.

Curious to hear others’ opinions on this topic!

Thanks. Btw MT 70.3 is a fantastic location and event.

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During check-in, athletes will cover their cockpit and other areas to protect electronics such as batteries, derailleurs, and shifters in the event of projected rain which doesn’t hurt in my opinion… It’s also a good idea, the day of race, to place your run gear in a bag that way it’s not soaking wet when you start your run.

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Everyone I know that raced clocked around 1100-1200 m, definitely nowhere near 1700 m.

I think they did the right decision of cancelling the swim, some of the folks I know that were not allowed to swim are really weak swimmers (over 2:00/100 m paces) at those speeds, these simply don’t generate enough propulsion in to safely swim in the open water against a significant chop and rain.

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I speak English & French but didn’t hear them announce anything about the shortened swim. Had they announced it, I probably would’ve queued for a faster swim time and actually managed to get in the water lol

I was near the front when they cancelled it but I didn’t see anyone refusing to get in the water. What I saw was that they kept pausing the rolling start so the kayaks and SUP volunteers could clear people out of the water that were presumably panicking. I saw at least 10 people per wave panicking but it was pretty hard to see beyond the second buoy.

The reaction to the cancelled swim was a mixed bag. Some people were relieved (keep in mind we were the slower swimmers) while others were rightfully upset. I spoke to a 70 year old man doing the race for his birthday and he was sad to not get to do the whole thing. Saw a woman bawling her eyes out - I assume she trained a lot or this was her only chance to do this kind of race.

I’m proportionally a much stronger bike/runner so I got a better place in the duathlon than I would’ve in the full race. I noticed a lot of people seemed nervous cycling in the rain but it didn’t seem that sketchy to me. I was on a road bike so maybe it was trickier on a TT

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During check-in, athletes will cover their cockpit and other areas to protect electronics such as batteries, derailleurs, and shifters in the event of projected rain which doesn’t hurt in my opinion… It’s also a good idea, the day of race, to place your run gear in a bag that way it’s not soaking wet when you start your run.

I have no issues with covering up electronics. Makes sense if done correctly.

Covering your seat, on the other hand, is freakin’ stupid. You’re going to be soaking wet when you first get on your bike so what difference does a dry seat make?

And once again… bike check-in the day before needs to go away.

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I speak English & French but didn’t hear them announce anything about the shortened swim. Had they announced it, I probably would’ve queued for a faster swim time and actually managed to get in the water lol

I was near the front when they cancelled it but I didn’t see anyone refusing to get in the water. What I saw was that they kept pausing the rolling start so the kayaks and SUP volunteers could clear people out of the water that were presumably panicking. I saw at least 10 people per wave panicking but it was pretty hard to see beyond the second buoy.

Apparently a chunk of the pros weren’t even aware of the shortened swim. All they saw (like us) was a closer first red turn buoy!

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Personally, I don’t cover anything, but I do take my chain off and install it the morning of the race if heavy rains are expected.

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I was apparently one of the last people to enter the swim. Towards the end I could see the red medical tent at the exit, but was not getting any closer to it. What traumatized me was the one swimmer near me who had his hand up yelling for help. I have never been trained as a lifeguard, and I knew if I went to help him he would likely drag me down as well, but his cries went from “Help me! Help me!” to “SAVE ME! SAVE ME!” Thank goodness I finally saw a kayak headed toward him. After I finally reached the exit, I had to take a moment. Hug your loved ones. Today.

Sharon

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Everyone I know that raced clocked around 1100-1200 m, definitely nowhere near 1700 m.

I think they did the right decision of cancelling the swim, some of the folks I know that were not allowed to swim are really weak swimmers (over 2:00/100 m paces) at those speeds, these simply don’t generate enough propulsion in to safely swim in the open water against a significant chop and rain.

Whaaaat ? You telling me people turn up to do an triathlon that includes open water, without having bothered to prepare or train enough to swim in open water ? Wow. Shocker.

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How were age group awards and world championship slots handled with some who did the swim and others who did a duathlon?

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How were age group awards and world championship slots handled with some who did the swim and others who did a duathlon?

I just got an email saying slots are being sent via email. First to auto qualifiers and if they don’t register in 48 hrs, it goes to next person on the list with a registration link and so on.

Last time I was exposed to this process was at Dubai 70.3 in 2020 just before pandemic. Half the field’s timing chip did not register at the starting mat, so half the field was recorded as a tri, and half the field as a du (in this case, the duathlon crew actually did a full tri, they just got registered as doing a du). Ironman doubled up slots and gave slots out for tri finishers and du finishers at Dubai70.3. As it turns out that was supposed to be for Taupo 2020, that rolled into St. George 2021 or St. George 2022.

As for the rolldown process via email, it actually took several weeks (2 days at a time per link). I missed a slot (was 6th in my age group and it rolled only to 5th).

In the case of Tremblant 70.3 last weekend, I finished way down in my age group on account of taking it easy/safe on the bike with this being a “C” prep event for me (rolloever from last year’s fire) as my A event is Muskoka in 2 weeks. So I just took if safe, sat up a lot, scrubbed lots of speed on turns and did not get into a tuck on downhills and even then had a flat (slow leak) and my chain also got sucked into frame/chainring space requiring a stop and several minutes to get it jammed out. Fortunately I have a slot to Taupo from St. George 70.3 in May.

Answering some of the OP’s questions, I just remove my computer and bring it race morning, but i don’t cover my bike. My bike is supposed to work when wet (having said that I have mechanical shifting, but I assume electric shifting has to work in the Ardennes classics at the protour level, so it should be fine leaving an electric shifting bike in the rain).

On the swim front, I was proably 200th or so in the water, and my garmin registered 1220m. I went a bit off course at one point but not too much. I was OK sighting but I use Finis Form clear goggles (by design). Bummer for those who did not get to swim.

I heard the announcement (in French) and was told by an official near the start pen it was to keep all of us close enough to shore for the entire race due to risk of lightening.

As it turns out, the final 30 minutes of racing (the run) were cancelled due to lightening as was the awards ceremony

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Agreed that covering one’s seat to have a dry saddle is not really needed, but covering one’s seat so as to not get water in the down tube during a deluge is something to think about doing if a bike will be left outside overnight.

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Agreed that covering one’s seat to have a dry saddle is not really needed, but covering one’s seat so as to not get water in the down tube during a deluge is something to think about doing if a bike will be left outside overnight.

That is why I covered parts of my bike as well - to cover potential openings to avoid a lot of water pooling in my bike overnight.

The electronics - di2 and etap, they really do not need to be covered. They are designed to work just fine in wet conditions, proven over the past 2 decades of use by pro cyclists!

To the person asking about orange color on their chain, yes, if you did not dry off and oil your chain after the race, rust will develop -very- quickly on it.

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I raced in the pro field at Tremblant- the reason some bikes were not covered is because we had to leave them uncovered so Race Ranger techs could put on the devices. We had the option to wait in line to have it done, then cover the bike, but I didn’t need to waste an hour or more of my time standing around waiting for that, so I (like many others) left it uncovered. Zero issues on race day.

Sorry to hear the swim was uncomfortable for so many. It was not communicated well to us either as to the shortened swim (mostly passed on from one person to the next). I personally did not think the conditions were that bad. People need to practice open water swimming more I guess.

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I personally did not think the conditions were that bad. People need to practice open water swimming more I guess.

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You are not allowed to say things like that here…

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Heh, it’s funny having that come from a pro. I don’t disagree with the sentiment on a personal level, but the reality is Ironman depends on a large group of people who aren’t racing so much as trying to survive the day. And on a good day, many of them still DNF. Those people are unsung heroes in their own right for the sport of triathlon as they are spending money that makes races possible for their own goals, be they fitness or “I can do hard things related”.

All that said, I know people who are terrified in open water. Like, they practice it and close their eyes every time they put their head under water. So they swim with their eyes closed and only open them while breathing or sighting.

They are the back of the back of the pack swimmers. And I commend them for facing their fears on a bright and sunny day with calm waters to make it happen. On those days that the conditions are terrible, I’m sympathetic and my heart breaks a little for all those crushed dreams if they can’t finish (or even start).

For sure, in every case, if those with anxiety or struggles could spend more time facing that fear or working through that weakness they’ll improve a little. But there’s always going to be a line somewhere where it becomes too much for a segment of the participants.

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I personally did not think the conditions were that bad. People need to practice open water swimming more I guess.

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You are not allowed to say things like that here…

yeah, if people can’t survive lightning strikes they ought to practice more!

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People need to practice open water swimming more I guess.

This.

Way too many AGers underestimate or neglect the swim and show up to a 70.3 race with very limited swim fitness and OWS skills. Best case scenario with good conditions and a thick wetsuit, they float their way out of the water in over 40 minutes, worst case, we all know how bad it could go wrong. Unfortunately, even some coaches preach the whole “don’t worry about the swim” attitude often getting athletes with limited swim background to spend months not even going to the swimming pool once per week.

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IF there was lightning, sure, don’t enter the water. I didn’t see anything. And the people in the water weren’t yelling “Help me! Save me!” because they saw lightning. The reality is that we cannot control the weather (shocking, I know) so athletes should be prepared for anything. Choppy water in wind or heaven forbid the ocean, rain, heat, whatever the universe throws at you. I train in all kinds of shit weather because I know that race day won’t always be sunny and 75 (or 20C).

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…I personally did not think the conditions were that bad. People need to practice open water swimming more I guess.

Kind of disappointing to see comments like this from someone who is a ‘pro’ in our sport (and a fellow Canadian to boot :frowning: …)

Did you see the kayaks that were tipping over, paddle boarders falling over, the rescue boats -forcing- people out of the water, the organizers literally stopping the swim at the beach?

No, because the pro field was well on their way before the conditions quickly got worse and all the above happened.

I was there as well, and was one of the earlier age groups to go in the water, so it wasn’t that bad for me either and I had no issue finishing the swim. But people 10+ minutes later weren’t so lucky.