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70.3 Germany, anyone competed?

Hi,



I've been looking at entering the Germany 70.3 event next year. I've just spotted the course profile and it looks pretty tough.



Has anyone done the event, what were your thoughts on the event as a whole and the bike leg. Might also be helpful to know whether your a strong cyclist, in other words, if you consider yourself to be a strong cyclist and you found it tough, I'm in trouble!!



Thanks

Comments

  • penguinpenguin Posts: 37
    I did it last year, It was GREAT!!!



    The bike course was hard, the last hill hurt! but the support was great, a big crowd ringing cow bells, screaming etc etc...



    I raced the event with a mate, he is a rubbish cyclist, he stressed over and over about the course profile. We did hills in training trying to get to a similar total altitude climbed in a training session. On the day, with the adrenalin, we both loved the course, and when the hills were over, the decent was great the last one is about 70kmh into T2. I managed a little under 2 hours 55 mins and my mate was around 3 hours and 10 mins, so the hills can not have been too bad. The first 10km of the course is crowded and VERY hard to stay 10m behind the rider in front.



    The only negative thing, and it is of course very negative, is 6 or so bikes were stolen from the T2 fenced off area in spite of good security, the organizers apparently compensated the athletes and offered a large reward to get back the bikes.



    The race WAS super well organized, I actually did not mind paying so much money for the event. The support spoke english, nice beer and a massage at the end. PERFECT.



    The run course is also up and down although only a gradual climb you do feel it in the legs, again the crowd if HUGE, so you continue to run to avoid looking like a twonk. The swim was in waves so no huge stress and plenty of room to swim into space if that is your thing.



    I am no expert, it was my only half, but it was fantastic. I have since done a full distance race, but that was not as fun as Wiesbaden.



    hope that helps,



    Penguin



    p.s. I never saw Faris AL Sultan on the riding track, so I guess I am a rubbish cyclist :(
  • penguinpenguin Posts: 37
    I did it last year, It was GREAT!!!



    The bike course was hard, the last hill hurt! but the support was great, a big crowd ringing cow bells, screaming etc etc...



    I raced the event with a mate, he is a rubbish cyclist, he stressed over and over about the course profile. We did hills in training trying to get to a similar total altitude climbed in a training session. On the day, with the adrenalin, we both loved the course, and when the hills were over, the decent was great the last one is about 70kmh into T2. I managed a little under 2 hours 55 mins and my mate was around 3 hours and 10 mins, so the hills can not have been too bad. The first 10km of the course is crowded and VERY hard to stay 10m behind the rider in front.



    The only negative thing, and it is of course very negative, is 6 or so bikes were stolen from the T2 fenced off area in spite of good security, the organizers apparently compensated the athletes and offered a large reward to get back the bikes.



    The race WAS super well organized, I actually did not mind paying so much money for the event. The support spoke english, nice beer and a massage at the end. PERFECT.



    The run course is also up and down although only a gradual climb you do feel it in the legs, again the crowd if HUGE, so you continue to run to avoid looking like a twonk. The swim was in waves so no huge stress and plenty of room to swim into space if that is your thing.



    I am no expert, it was my only half, but it was fantastic. I have since done a full distance race, but that was not as fun as Wiesbaden.



    hope that helps,



    Penguin



    p.s. I never saw Faris AL Sultan on the riding track, so I guess I am a rubbish cyclist :(
  • penguinpenguin Posts: 37
    sorry about the duplicate....I must have sneezed when clicking the OK button
  • grant1974grant1974 Posts: 262
    Thanks for the reply Penguin, just wondered, did you find accommodation easy enough, also, did you drive or fly, I'm guessing the nearest airport is Frankfurt. If you can pass on any info it will be gratefully received...
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    This is all good news I am also thinking of giving it a go! more tempted tha ever now
  • grant1974grant1974 Posts: 262
    You had better be quick, the race is filling up fast, I've just entered!!!



    See you there...
  • penguinpenguin Posts: 37
    This year the race was on during the wine festival, so the city was very crowded, and a lot of fun ( of course alcohol free wheat beer). We still managed to get a hotel room no problem, we did book in February, and it cost about 50 Euro a night for a twin not including breakfast. I am living in Germany at the moment so it was a 2 hour train journey, but I think you are right Frankfurt is the closest airport. I think the train from Frankfurt is very short, perhaps 30 mins or so.



    There are free busses between the city (Wiesbaden) and the swim start, it takes about 15 mins by bus. The busses run on both the day before ( to check-in your bike) and on the following morning to start the race.



    I was allowed to bring my bike into my hotel room at another triathlon event, obviously your bike must stay staurday night in the transistion area, but if you fly in before saturday might be good to check with the hotel if they allow bikes in the room.



    you have reminded me to register again for next year, last year i was slapped with the late registration fee, that was rather high from memory.



    I am sure you will have a fun day on the long gradual hill "Gnadenlos" (Merciless) and on the short sharp "Hammer".



    hope you make it there,



    Penguin





  • grant1974grant1974 Posts: 262
    Thanks for the info, and yes myself and four friends have just entered! Bring on a hard years training!!
  • Hi,



    I'm sorry for resurrecting this post but I'm after more information regarding staying in Wiesbaden and flights to Frankfurt, transfers and so forth.



    Essentially none of us have ever travelled abroad with our bikes, so whilst I can find flights at reasonable prices, non seem to have options for bikes? Am I missing something or is this something we are going to have to book via a travel agent?



    Secondly, there is going to be six adults a one child, so ideally we would like an apartment or villa to house all of us, has anyone travel in the area and can recommend any where?



    Lastly, can anyone recommend a travel firm who specialises in events abroad, I have tried Nirvana and they came back with a ridiculous price, £600 each?



    Thanks again

  • So the train system in Germany can be accessed using this website, in English.



    http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml



    There is the option on the second page to click:

    “carriage of bicycles required”



    Frankfurt(M) Flughafen to

    Wiesbaden Hbf

    Trip takes 35 mins with the train.



    So in case you don’t speak German, Flughafen is airport and Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) is main train station. I think they are the only words they don’t translate into English on the website.



    If there are 6 of you, there is a ticket valid for 5 people called “Schoenetag Ticket” this means the 5 can travel on the same ticket which is usually much cheaper than 5 single tickets. I am not sure about the minimum age of children, so they might be free – you should check that yourself.



    Bringing the bike, hmmm, the airlines have different “rules” and simply calling them is the best option. They don’t advertise the bike handling charges too well because I suspect they don’t want to carry them, more effort and more staff. Last time I wanted to go to the UK I called KLM and they told me I think 20Euro each way from Europe, really not 100% sure on the price. Carrying the bike on an airplane with a bike suitcase is best. If you don’t have one and don’t want to spend the money, the old trick of going to any local bike shop and asking for a bike box works fine. When a bike shop receives a new bike they throw the box away, this is simply recycling. Ask for a MTB one, it will be bigger, and then you can squeeze in other IRONMAN stuff and not be over the weight limit on luggage. I squeeze as much as possible into my bike bag when traveling, my cross country MTB bag often weighs 20kg - heavy little hardtail :)



    Not really sure about accommodation, I usual use:



    http://www.hotelclub.net/



    looks like you can already book for the weekend of the event, 56 pounds or so for a double or 83 for a triple room at the 3.5 Star Best Western Hotel Hansa, Wiesbaden.



    I have also registered for the event now, and managed to convince a few work mates to join in. Told workmate A that B had already registered and then told workmate B that A had already registered - so they both quickly registered – then found out I was lying to them both.



    Let the training begin,



    Penguin



  • Thanks mate, great info...
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