Ironman Canada Whistler vs Challenge Penticton - Bike Profiles

Effective October 2013, I've moved my active blog to run.raflopez.com. You can view this post and all my latest posts and on my new website!

I regularly check the analytics on my blog to see what people are searching for when they come to my blog, it gives me a good sense of what people are interested in and what they'd like to read about on here.  One piece of information that seems to be pretty popular is the Ironman Canada and Challenge Penticton Bike Courses.

I can't speak directly to the 2013 Whistler Ironman Canada Bike Course, but I do have the elevation profile here and I can talk about how it looks like it'll stack up against Challenge Penticton (old IMC bike course).  I'll talk quickly about the latter first.

Ironman Canada 2012 / Challenge Penticton 2013 Bike Course

This bike profile was taken right from my Garmin from the day that I raced Ironman Canada in 2011.  You can see that the overall profile for the first 40 miles is mostly downhill with the exception of Maclean Creek Road, which is the big bump around the 10 mile mark.  That first climb at 10 miles is very abrupt and very short, its also the location of the first bike aid station, which in my opinion is well placed since you're not flying by the first aid station at 40kph.

Richter around the 40 mile mark, and Yellow Lake around the 90 mile mark, are legitimate climbs that reward patience and favour athletes that are in sync with their bodies (or their power meters).  For anyone used to riding in the Rockies they're business as usual, but if you're used to flatter courses like IMAZ or IMFL, they might seem a little more intense.

After Yellow Lake the ride is virtually all downhill and you have ample opportunity to rest your legs, get some calories in you, and maybe take a nature break.  In that sense, its more of a 100 mile bike course than a 112 mile course.

A good way to think of the Challenge Penticton bike course is that its a flat time trial type course with two intermediate climbs worth training specifically for.  I rode it in 5:44 on my P2 with a standard 53-39 crank up front, and a 12-25 cassette in the back.  My average power on the day was 174 watts which was probably about 75% of my ftp.  On the climbs my goal was never to exceed 200 watts.

With that gearing for both Richter and Yellow Lake a specific part of my training included climbing on the TT bike in a big enough gear to keep rpms around 60-70 while holding around 200-220 watts.  This prepared me for the type of climbing the course had in store.  For me it was important to be able to do those climbs with big gears since I felt going with a compact crank solely for Richter and Yellow Lake would cost me too much top end gearing for the flat and downhill segments which realistically make up most of that bike course.  With that sort of mismatch between gearing and riding, its important to be able to work the bike from side to side with your arms using your body weight to move the pedals rather than just your legs, this allows you to keep your heart rate and total power output low while keeping your momentum.

For anyone with a functional threshold power less than 200 watts, or anyone who thinks they'll ride the course in 6:15 or more, I'd definitely recommend a compact crank for Challenge Penticton, with a 11-25 cassette if you're around a 6 hour rider, or an 12-25 or 12-27 if you're a little longer on the bike.

For another in depth look at the Ironman Canada Bike Course, check out this post from back in August.

Ironman Canada 2013 - Whistler Bike Course

Oddly enough it seems the Whistler bike course actually has a little less total climbing than Challenge Penticton.  I created a copy of this map in MapMyRide and had a look at the two major climbs to see how they stack up against Challenge Penticton.

The first climb, beginning around the 13 mile mark, roughly the same time that cyclists will be hitting Maclean Creek in Penticton, is roughly a 1100 ft climb over 8 miles, is actually a lot closer in length and grade to Richter than it looks believe it or not.  Ironman Canada veterans will be in familiar territory here but that much an ascent that early in the ride is sure to rattle some riders if you haven't done your homework.

The second climb, around the 30 mile mark is 560 feet over about 6-7 miles.  So not too bad of a climb, but shortly after the first climb is sure to spread the field out a little more and wear some riders down.  With almost 1800 feet of climbing in the first third of the ride the course certainly won't be an easy start and it'll need riders to find their legs pretty quick in the race.

After Whistler's second climb its smooth sailing for quite some time.  Riders will ride back through Whistler to be cheered on their friends and family and the route then follows the Sea to Sky Highway along a river valley making for a down hill to long flat ride for almost 50 miles.  This is where riders with a good time trial position and solid threshold will come into their own.

At 90 miles, the last big test begins with a 1400 foot climb over 17km.  Between Challenge Penticton and Ironman Canada, this is the biggest climb and will probably take the most mental fortitude of any of the ascents.  Not much can be said about the climb (since I haven't ridden it), but such a big climb so late in the course, a calm, tactical approach to the climb will be crucial for a good run split.

The key to Ironman Canada Whister's bike course is going to be conservative pacing in the first half of the ride to leave plenty in the tank for the long time trial and climb in the second half.  Though the total elevation is less than Challenge Penticton, I do think that Whistler has the tougher of the two courses, but only narrowly so.  In large part this is simply because of where the climbs are in the ride, the two major climbs are early, and late in the race, making getting a good rythm for the bike and run a bit of a task.

I'd probably recommend running the same set up and applying the same recommendations for gearing as I did for the Challenge Penticton course on this one, the big difference will be in the strategy and mind of the rider for IMC Whistler.

Conclusion

As always, I'm going to throw in there that a power meter is an invaluable tool for racing Ironman.  Not so much in shorter races, but for technical courses like IMC and CP, I think that they're great tools to have for both the months of training leading up to the race, and for race day itself.  For all the money that triathletes spend on gear, an $850 powermeter is worth far more than a fancy set of Zipp 404's or drag reducing wetsuit that makes you look like a superhero.

Both races are well over 9 months away from today.  But its never too early to start doing your homework.  When gearing your bike, shopping for a trainer, looking for a coach, take into consideration what you're working towards.  Choose your races and plan your season accordingly over the next few months.  Triathletes who take the time to have a shot as a cyclist at rides like Gran Fondo Highwood Pass or Gran Fondo Rockies will be rewarded for their foresight come late August.

Joe Friel said in a recent blog post that he believes Ironman is just a bike race with a swim warm up and a jog to finish it all off.  Though that's a bit of a an exaggeration, I get what he's saying and for the most part I actually do agree.  So do your homework, even if its not the physical work yet, start thinking and planning your season and training for the big day.

Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton- Part II

So its been about a week since I posted on Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton and I can certainly tell from the web traffic and all the comments the post has received that its an issue a lot of people feel very strongly about.  The topic has been pretty divisive with supporters for both sides spread across first timers and seasoned vets alike.  Whether you're for or against the changes I have to say its refreshing to see this sort of response to the topic, it shows the passion and dedication to the sport that I think really characterizes triathletes.

I thought I'd post a quick update on how things seem to be coming along for the future of Ironman Canada.  A disclaimer right away though, a lot of this is based on rumour and conjecture, WTC has been pretty tight lipped around the process for where IMC is going to land.  So I'll start with what I know and then I'll work my way into the heresay.

Challenge Penticton

Registration for Challenge Penticton is open and they're signing people up for next August.  They actually had a registration area set up in the Convenction Centre in Penticton after IMC last week.  From what I read and heard it sounds like it was a well put together sign up with the Challenge Family CEO Felix Walchshöfer on hand to personally thank people for their trust and registrations.  Athletes who signed up last week in Penticton received a special loyalty price of $599 (online registration is now $675).  As a side note, the Challenge series has a decent refund policy with full refunds offered for 60 days after sign up, after which there is a $100 cancellation fee for athletes up to 30 days before the race.

The Challenge series has been doing their social media work to get the race out there with sponsored Facebook ads, an active Twitter feed, and a pretty sweet YouTube video on their website specific to Penticton.

The series is definitely taking their debut in the North American market seriously and I do think this bodes well for next year's Challenge Penticton.  We all know Challenge is a very well run race series and they know how important it is that they be well received in their inaugural event on our soil.  Whether it'll be enough to sway some of their detractors remains yet to be seen, but you have to admit, they get points for effort.

Ironman Canada 2013

So now starts the speculation.

Its been reported in Triathlon Magazine Canada and the Vernon Morning Star that municipalities have been given until September 24, 2012 to submit proposals to the WTC to host Ironman Canada.  An announcement is expected to be made by October.

A number of BC municipalities were put forward in the Triathlon Magazine Canada article including Vernon, Whistler, Victoria, Vancouver, and Kelowna.  To me that just sounds like a list of towns and cities in BC and I'd expect that only two or three of them are actually being seriously considered.

In order to put on an event the type and the size of Ironman Canada there are a number of pretty major considerations that need to be accounted for.  "Borzoibob" on the slowtwitch forums actually summarized a few of the logical criteria quite well pointing out that considerations like; lake and transition area size, proximity to major trauma centre, availability of volunteer and traffic control resources, and spectator friendliness might actually rule out a few communities straight out of the gate (probably Vernon and Whistler, maybe even Victoria if you think of how awkward it can be to get to).

Kelowna does keep popping up in the lists, but I've heard that they aren't interested.  They already have the Kelowna Apple Triathlon which is an important race in the Canadian triathlon calendar with its own heritage. Opening the doors to Ironman in Kelowna might be a bit of another headache for locals, and it could hurt Apple, and of course it does split the Ironman market between Penticton and Kelowna, given that the timing of Ironman Canada 2013 will still be August/September.  It seems to be Kelowna and Ironman Canada might be one of those perfect relationships in another set of circumstances, but not this time.

In my last post I speculated about Calgary 70.3 being converted to an Ironman.  It still makes sense and given the WTC's penchant for moving races to big cities, it could be an easy answer, perhaps even as an interim 2013 location.  I say Calgary and not Vancouver just because Calgary already plays host to an event and it seems like the relationships are already in place with the City of Calgary to host this type of event.  Vancouver on the other hand would require starting from scratch with a city that while beautiful, already leaves something to be desired in terms of urban planning.

Conclusion

No matter what, it seems like the date has been set and this October we'll know where Ironman Canada will make its new home.  I'll be watching this with a keen eye and keep you all posted on anything I hear.

Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton

So the cat is out of the bag.  Last week, only a few days before IMC, news broke that Ironman Canada as we know it in the beautiful city of Penticton would be no more.  In 2013 Penticton will reprise its roll as host to iron distance triathletes from around the world, only this time it will be under the Challenge Penticton name.

I spent the weekend in Penticton volunteering and had the opportunity to talk to triathletes and some of those "in the know" individuals who were privy to information before it hit the triathlon newstands.  The reaction around in the community was pretty mixed from both locals and visiting athletes.  On the one hand some people are happy that the reigns to Penticton's darling race won't fall into the clutches of the oft derided World Triathlon Corporation, but on the other hand it means losing the universally regarded Ironman name.

A rose by any other name...

Hoping I don't need to write this down again

Let me make myself clear on one thing, the Challange family puts on amazing races.  I have yet to race one myself, but I've rarely heard an ill word spoken about Challenge.  There are many Ironman veterans who are happy to see the series hit North American shores and are looking forward to racing southern BC's tried, tested and true Iron distance course.  The warm waters of Lake Okanagan will still be there in 2013, Richter and Yellow Lake will still be there in 2013, and most importantly the kind and inviting people of Penticton will still be cheering for athletes in 2013.  A change in the name won't take that away, to quote Shakespere, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

All that being said, I don't think that Challenge Penticton 2013 will be better than Ironman Canada 2012.  I think it'll be different, not better or worse, just different.  Graham Fraser has put on a top notch race for many years now and has set the bar for what an Ironman race should be.  Racing IMC last year was everything I could have possibly imagined thanks to the town, volunteers, organizers, and athletes.  I know there were some missteps last year with issues around the medals and water but I think that those challenges were presented by circumstances somewhat outside the Race Director's control.  After the fact Graham went well beyond what was called for to make things right, and that's the kind of director we all know him to be.  He deserves our thanks and respect for everything he's done for anyone, athlete or otherwise, who has become part of the Ironman Canada family.

Looking forward

Without the Kona slots, the Ironman name, and the mass start, but with additions like a relay option, I think that Challenge will have a very different feel to it.  Many first timers will no doubt be put off by the loss of the Ironman name and I don't blame them.  If I was coming into this for my first time in 2013, as soon as I heard the news I would have signed up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene or Ironman Mont Tremblant.  So Penticton will lose some age groupers on that end, but hopefully that is countered by athletes testing the waters with the relay option, which is an exciting addition to the field.

On the other side of the spectrum, the loss of Kona slots means that some of the top pros and age groupers won't be making an appearance next year in Penticton either.  Now with news that next year's yet to be located Ironman Canada will have 100 Kona qualifying slots and 5000 pro KQ points, IMC 2013 might be the place to be for some of the top athletes around.

Ironman Canada 2013

I'm eagerly awaiting the news on where Ironman Canada 2013 will be.  A 3.8km swim in Green Lake in Whistler, followed by a 180km bike ride down the Sea to Sky Highway through Vancouver to transition in the Campbell Valley Regional in White Rock, finished off with a marathon run into into Richmond, would be a fast, epic race, albeit a complete nightmare in terms of logistics.

Otherwise, the Ironman Calgary 70.3 bike route could very easily be modified to 180km with an out and back down Highway 66 up to Elbow Falls.  The run course could be similar to that of the Calgary Marathon route but starting at the south side of the Glenmore Reservoir where the current run course turns around.  In this case the race could lean on existing agreements and permitting, and the logistics would be familiar to RD's and the host city.  A bike segment into the majestic Rocky Mountains, and a run through downtown Calgary would make the route one of the most beautiful and varying routes in North America.

And of course there is Kelowna.  The city which was originally offered Ironman Canada thirty years ago may now have a second chance.  This would almost surely be a direct response to Challenge Penticton, and may cut the race at the knees.  For this reason alone I'm actually hoping southern BC doesn't play host to WTC's revival of IMC.  More races in western Canada is a good thing, and I hope that WTC realizes that the region can support three races including IMCDA without undercutting one another.

Decisions Decisions

If there's ever a time or place to be as a triathlete in Western Canada, its now.  I'd originally put my plans to race the Ironman distance again on hold until at least 2014, in favour of Olympic and 70.3 distances.  After a of year of keeping my athlete life carefully balanced against my personal life, the plan was to go back down to shorter distances and build speed, seeing how far I could take myself with a year of very intense and focused training, and hopefully win myself a ticket to 70.3 worlds in Vegas.  But after spending the weekend volunteering at IMC, and with the prospect of racing an all new course, I can't help but be excited at the idea of changing the plan and going back to Ironman next year.

As always, I'd encourage others to look at their plans, and maybe put themselves out there a little in terms of where and what you see your goals for 2013 are.  This really is a great time for the sport and whether you're racing the inaugural Challenge Penticton, or reborn Ironman Canada, this may be your calling.

Closing Time

By chance I ran into the always gracious and kind Ron Zalko and his wife last Saturday in Penticton.  Ron was the visionary athlete who first brought Ironman to Penticton, and North America.  When looking for a course, he sought a location that mirrored the challenging and rewarding conditions of Kona.  He found it, and with the help of Graham Fraser for the past thirty years the finish line at Lakeshore Drive has become hallowed ground for tens of thousands of Ironman triathletes including myself.  The number of dreams that have been realized and memories that have been formed on the course of Ironman Canada thanks to these gentlemen can't be counted.

So as the reigns are passed to the Challenge family, and Penticton says a bittersweet goodbye to Ironman Canada, I think its fitting to say thank you to Graham Fraser and Ron Zalko, and the residents of Penticton for the countless cheers and memories that they've left with us.

Thank you.

(11/27/12) Edit- For an in depth comparison of the Ironman Canada and Challenge Penticton Bike Courses, check out this more recent blog post.