General Discussion Triathlon Talk » 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills Rss Feed  
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2012-06-22 8:45 AM

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Subject: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

Article on Bloomberg this AM about the London Olympics tri course, and the lack of hills. Biggest ascent on the entire bike course will be 35 feet. Yes, 35 feet.  Records to be set, possibly? Sorry, no link to story.



2012-06-22 9:14 AM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

That's my kind of course

But for ITU style racing, no hills will change the race a bit.

2012-06-22 9:22 AM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
2012-06-22 10:22 AM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

Training only in and around Chicago 35 feet is a hill to me!

I remember earlier this year, or possibly late last year seeing an ITU warmup race on that course, and it was crazy flat! The turns, especially the tight 180 degree turns, made things real interesting when the pack came through on their bikes!

2012-06-22 10:24 AM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
nice to see an American bred company, GE, sponsoring the Brits in the Olympics. Rubbish.
2012-06-22 12:23 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
Here in Colorado a 35 foot ascent is considered to be FLAT.


2012-06-22 12:27 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

BooTri - 2012-06-22 11:24 AM nice to see an American bred company, GE, sponsoring the Brits in the Olympics. Rubbish.

I think they wanted to win... No sense in sponsoring an American this year

2012-06-22 1:23 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

rick4657 - 2012-06-22 11:23 AM Here in Colorado a 35 foot ascent is considered to be FLAT.

More like a Down hill!

2012-06-22 1:37 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
Exige - 2012-06-22 1:23 PM

rick4657 - 2012-06-22 11:23 AM Here in Colorado a 35 foot ascent is considered to be FLAT.

More like a Down hill!

35 feet? That's not a hill, it's an overpass!

Definately not a "Down Hill" either! A down hill you spin out and coast at 55+MPH!

2012-06-22 1:40 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

The swim is going to be important. If a good group can get away in the water and work together well on the bike, taking a gap into T2, the race will be closed.

Awesome.

2012-06-22 3:06 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
That's just wrong - I have 35 feet of climb from the end of my neighborhood to my house at the end of my ride (.95 miles)..


2012-06-22 3:21 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
I climb 65 feet from 5778 to 5843 within the first .45 miles of every ride coming out of my neighborhood.
2012-06-22 3:29 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
It's ITU.....it's all about the run anyway.
2012-06-22 3:31 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

not like cycling is important in ITU style events anyway. It's a swim, air dry, and then a foot race.

A hilly bike course could have built some separation and it might now have come down to a close finish. No climbing almost guarantees a sprint finish 

2012-06-22 3:34 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
I climb 35ft at the end of my ride, T2 is on 4th floor and no elevator Tongue out
2012-06-22 3:50 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
Tom Demerly. - 2012-06-22 2:40 PM

The swim is going to be important. If a good group can get away in the water and work together well on the bike, taking a gap into T2, the race will be closed.

Awesome.

Curious Tom. Is that not pretty much every ITU race?



2012-06-22 4:04 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills

"Curious Tom. Is that not pretty much every ITU race?"

Contingent on the terrain. Throw a big climb or a technical section in and it begins to turn to the advantage to the individual rider who can climb and corner rather than a small group that could work together and maybe even "protect" a runner until T2.

The tactics and strategy are fascinating, especially if a small break, less than 8 athletes, formed after the swim and within that group were a couple groups of two with those two being from the same country. At that point there has to be a deal made. One guy has to work for the other on the bike, and some countries include this consideration into their selection criteria. There may also be a "combine" of countries working together to put their men or women in the top 3 spots. In cycling, Italy is a master of this at the Olympics.


2012-06-22 4:55 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
indianacyclist - 2012-06-22 5:31 PM

not like cycling is important in ITU style events anyway. It's a swim, air dry, and then a foot race.


Completely incorrect.

A hilly bike course cold have built some separation and it might now have come down to a close finish. No climbing almostĀ guarantees a sprint finish


Did you watch the test event last year by any chance? Same course and a break that stuck on the bike (with 1st and 2nd coming from this group and J Brownlee running from the main pack into 3rd).

Shane
2012-06-22 10:23 PM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
2 ?'s on ITU why do they allow drafting. Because we know true Triathlete Competition i.e Ironman USA Triathlon. I mean this is not Tour De France it Triathlon, don't have drafting and will The Olympics Race be on TV?
2012-06-23 3:53 AM
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Subject: RE: 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills
TriMan25 - 2012-06-23 12:23 AM

2 ?'s on ITU why do they allow drafting. Because we know true Triathlete Competition i.e Ironman USA Triathlon. I mean this is not Tour De France it Triathlon, don't have drafting and will The Olympics Race be on TV?


My understanding is that the ITU adopted drafting in order to have it included in the Olympics. In the years leading up to Olympic inclusion, races had gotten very complicated in terms of drafting penalties and appeals with the end result being announced hours after the race and it not necessarily being the first across the line. Since most of these penalties revolved around drafting, they decided to eliminate the draft zone for elite ITU events to make inclusion more attractive to the IOC who wanted the athlete who broke the tape to win gold.

No idea if it wil be televised live in the US but there will be streaming options if you want to watch both events.

Shane
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » 2012 Olympics Tri course -- racers lament lack of hills Rss Feed