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Blenheim Bike Course

PlumbudPlumbud Posts: 9
in General Chat
I'm doing Blenheim next weekend for the first time and haven't had a chance to get down there and have a look at the bike or run course.



Can anyone give me info on what they are like and what to expect?

Comments

  • tritogetfittritogetfit Posts: 7
    HI I did Blenheim two years ago and it was my first Tri. There is a comment in 220 June edition about the ride - there is a long hill but stick with it until you see the boat house (I think) on the lake edge once over this hill there is about 2mins to recover before the bridge. From what I remember the road is a single track width, quite hilly but some good downhill stretches, I found it quite hard but am useless on the bike....oh and transition from swim is 400m uphill...that was a surprise too!
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    There's a couple of cattle grids that they'll probably cover with carpet or suchlike.



    It's pretty uppy-downy with one or two tightish turns but by the third lap you'll be familiar with it. Just keep your wits about you, particularly on the first lap while accelerating downhill!
  • MowfMowf Posts: 272
    I'm heading back there for my third year....



    Overall, it's bloody awesome. The atmosphere, organisation and setting are just brilliant. It's tough for a sprint though (Stu Hayes won last year and said its pretty much the toughest he's done).



    Swim - standard really. Just be aware that you'll be in a wave of about 200 people, so positioning is key. If you are after anything below 15 minutes, you'll probably need to take a chance and head to the front.



    T1 - 400m uphill run to your bike - which is pretty hard in your wetsuit bottoms. Good support though, which helps.



    Bike - 3 laps of a pretty hilly course. But as someone has already said, each hill is followed by a pretty sharp decent - so it pays to gun it up towards the end and then 'rest' on the way down.



    T2 - Standard, although you have to run up a pretty steep bridge right the start, so beware of going off too fast.



    Run -2 laps and again, not flat. After the bridge you're straight into a fairly steep downhill section, that is actually quite tough on tired legs. The big uphill section is about half way round, but there is a drinks station just before it and you can see the palace - awesome view.



    It's certainly not a PB course. But I haven't come back year after year for no reason...



    Other bonuses include a pretty strong pro field if you fancy watching some first class races. Last year Stu Hayes won with Stannard in 2nd (Frazer Cartmel also raced). The year before i think Olly Freeman won. This year I hear Tim Don is thinking about giving it a whirl...



    Hope that helps.
  • joolzdjoolzd Posts: 245
    Am doing Blenheim and not been there before & haven't got time to scoot up there to check out the layout/routes etc so your summary Mowf is really useful - thank you.[:)]
  • PlumbudPlumbud Posts: 9
    Thanks for the info guys. Looks like it's going to be a bit more technical than I expected!



    Can't believe its only a week away - very excited![:)]
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    I'm feeling the fear and the excitement. I cycled round there last year early in the morning while the mist was still rising off it. Gorgeous. The memory of how hard I worked seems to have faded in comparison but I'm sure I'll be reminded next week...
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