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Discussion: Bike Course
Subject: Bike Course By: John Peters Written on: 2005-04-03 03:07:40 Message: Does anyone know of an ACCURATE map or description of the bike course. The one provided on the Ironman France web site is very difficult to map out. I've looked at Michelin Guides and other maps in detail...but cannot trace the course as described on the web site. I live an hour away from Nice and was hoping to ride the course a few times prior to the race in order to make an informed decision on wheels, gearing, etc. I'd be more than happy to share whatever I learn with others that are planning on doing the race. JP
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: David Tallo Written on: 2005-04-06 09:18:18 Message: A write-up of the course would be greatly valued - looking forward to reading it!
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: pierre dumont Written on: 2005-04-13 15:36:11 Message: Same here John! We are on a need to know basis concerning this course. I live in Montreal Canada, so there is no way i can check out the course ahead of time. Pierre
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: John Peters Written on: 2005-04-18 03:57:01 Message: Since I posted this, Ironman France has updated their site with a better bike course map. I rode the northern half of the course about a week ago. I recommend having a decent climbing gear in the back. I dropped all the way to my go-to granny gear on a couple short areas of that section, and that was on a road bike. It will be a tough decision on gearing. Since we begin and end at sea level with 5k feet of climbing, we also get 5k of descents. I can honestly say that there are some full-tilt-bozo descents on the northern half. So, it would be nice to have a BIG ring up front. Unfortunately, I was rudely awakened from my dream of finishing the bike with pristine brake pads, as there are quite a few descents with sharp corners and even some 180 degree plus hairpin turns. Oh well. As much as I winge about the course...the scenery is fantastic. You can look down from about 1500 feet on the remainder of the course as well as some that you have already ridden. The little hamlets, bridges and tunnels are very cool too. JP
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: Willy Waks Written on: 2005-04-25 12:03:27 Message: I have both a Tri-Bike (Cervello P2K 650 with DurAce 9) and a Road Bike (Lemond Victoire 700 with better climbing gear). I am comfortable on both, and faster on the rolling hills of North Texas with the Cervello. But Nice seems to be a completely different ball game, mostly because it is technical. What would you recommend ? 1) Tri bike 2) Road bike 3) Modified Road bike (Clipon bars and tri-like seat post) ? Thanks Willy Waks Dallas
Subject: Tri bike vs Road bike By: pierre dumont Written on: 2005-04-26 09:35:06 Message: Hi Willy, I've been asking myself the same questions; -Shoould i use my Road bike for IM France? -Or my tri-bike? -Is there life after death? -If yes, how much does it cost?!?!?!?! So many questions ...so few answers! But seriously i will try to drop a e-mail to Mark Allen who is part of the organisation of IM France, maybe he could give us is opinion? Pierre
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: Willy Waks Written on: 2005-04-26 12:28:02 Message: Meanwhile, I gleaned that kind of info about/ from the pros (of course we want to emulate them...): 1) Tim DeBoom trains for IM France on a road bike. 2) Olivier Marceau sent me an email recommending "un velo polyvalent", which I translate as a road bike with a tri-setup. I got a similar answer from Serge Song ( a Tri-coach who runs a year around tri-camp in Antibes, 15K from Nice). He also said that a 39/23 would get me anywhere, but that it is windy on the return. 3)Last, but not least, Dan Empfied wrote, in How to Know if -- and When-- a Tri Bike is Right for You ? http://www.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/parse.pl?url=http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/fit_issues.html&;text=Tri%20Bike%20is%20Right%20for%20You "Then there are the races-- and we're not talking about draft-legal ITU races, which of course are also raced on road race bikes-- but certain no-drafting races in which one will spend the majority of one's time out of the aero position. There are not many of these, but two that come to mind are the Nice Triathlon in France and Catalina Island Triathlon in Southern California. A case could be made for riding these races on standard road bikes." Conclusion: I will be using my road bike, and take an extra pair of break pads for the downhills. Willy
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: pierre dumont Written on: 2005-04-27 10:37:01 Message: Hi Willy and all readers, Dropped an email to Mark Allen concerning the choice of bike (road or tri) for Nice, and believe it or not...he replied!!! He seems to agree with Olivier Marceau; Road geometry..... with aero bars.He mentions that a tri geometry could actually be a little dangerous because of the forward positioning and the major downhills on the course. But there is plenty of flats so, aerobars are welcome! As long as you're comfortable..seems to be the key!! Good training! Pierre
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: Willy Waks Written on: 2005-04-27 14:08:06 Message: Pierre Thanks. It is great to get a confirmation from Mark Allen. Happy training! Willy
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: Jason Hobson Written on: 2005-05-10 01:09:05 Message: I'm going with my road bike (Cervelo R2.5) with clip-on aero bars instead of my tri-bike. My coach is a former pro triathlete from the UK with several finishes at the old Nice Triathlon. He thinks the advantages of the road bike positioning are better suited for the Nice course. Any thoughts/suggestions about race wheels for this course? Jason
Subject: RE: Bike Course By: Willy Waks Written on: 2005-05-10 15:31:21 Message: Because they are also "polyvalent", Olivier Marceau suggested Mavic Ksyrium, which turned out to be what I already have on my road bike. How lucky can one be ?
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