Hamburg Elite World Championship Wrap Up

Hamburg Elite World Championship Wrap Up

by Emma Carney (AUS) -
Number of replies: 0

Dear Athletes,

I thought today we would look at the World Championship race that was run on the weekend. We will look at the course, how it was raced and what you needed to do to win. We will also look at how you could force your way into a top finish.

Due to the Covid-19 safe protocols, the World Championships this year looked a little different, but the racing was still fierce. The course was in Stadtpark, a park just outside Hamburg. Crowds were not allowed and pre-race routines were different. These Covid-19 safe changes I addressed in an earlier email.

This year the World Championships was a sprint format. This is the first time a World Triathlon World Championships has been decided on this format and the last time a stand alone World Championship race was held since 2008. This race was always going to be interesting.

The Course - 

The Swim 

The swim was a 1 lap anti-clockwise 750m swim with the first turn at 260m. The top turn was wide with a second marker about 100m returning the athletes back towards the start area. At about 600m the final turn into the swim exit was marked by a single buoy. The swim environment was a lake, very calm with no currents or chop. The water temperature was around 18 degrees, so it was a wetsuit swim.

Transition 1

Swimmers exited the water via a ramp. It was better to exit on the right because of the right turn to transition. With a run of about 50m along the bank the athletes then had to ascend at least 20 steps to transition and their bikes. Exit was at the other end of the transition area from where they entered from the swim.

The Bike

The bike course was described as

‘Generally flat profile without noteworthy climbs. There are six laps of 3.1km in total plus a short part of each 0.15km from and back to transition. The route is technically demanding due to tight turns (two 180° turns and a narrow 90° turn to/from TA). Riding on the left side.’

The ‘generally flat profile’ referred to a slight uphill gradient of 1-2% on the exit out of transition up to the looped section of the course. Once out on this loop, athletes completed 6 laps of an out and back course.

Transition 2

The bike to run transition was just after a tight left hand turn off the bike course. Transition was the same area, with the other side used, numbered in the opposite direction so when exiting the other end (bike to run), athletes had all run the same distance with their bikes - a nice technical detail World Triathlon TO’s.

The Run

The run course was described as –

‘Generally flat 5km run course. Including a first section of 900m leading into two loops of 2,0 km and finishing with a 100m stretch towards the finish line. Two 180° turns per lap.’

‘Generally flat’ is referring to the run out of transition. This is on a gravel path up to the road where the majority of the bike was raced. The athletes then run two loops out on this road before turning off for the finish on the opposite side of the lake to the transition area.

So how do you force a top result?

Swim – Strong start.  

It was clear the best start position was on the right of the pontoon because it provided the most direct line to the first turn. Light goggles would have been the best choice, given the lake environment and cloudy weather. The swim course markers were large yellow buoys and very visible and would not have been a problem, given the water was flat. As always, the best way to race the swim was to have a fast reaction to the start, an efficient dive and a fast first 200-300m. With no laps on the swim, it made an efficient start extremely important.

T1 – Be efficient!

Exiting the water on the right should have been every athletes priority because it gave you a shorter route to T1.

The transition area was on a slight uphill gradient (swim to bike), so it was important to have some speed mounting the bike to maintain momentum and good gear selection.

The transition was a tough transition with the steps and was a very good opportunity to make up any lost time from the swim if run and executed efficiently.

Bike – Attack, don’t sit on.

The 180 degree turns at each end of the course were the areas of opportunity and also danger. ‘Danger’ because the roads were damp, and obviously turning on wet roads can lead to a crash. ‘Opportunity’, because if you executed the turns efficiently and quickly while also in the correct gear you could really break the field up or make things difficult for anyone sitting on your wheel.

What was very obvious was that those athletes who rode hard raced well and also produced the faster run times and those athletes who sat on the back of the bike pack and suffered through the ‘slingshot’ effect through the turns, also negatively impacted their ability to run competitively.

The athletes who had trained threshold efforts and had the skills to ride well through corners rode this course well and also had the ability to ride sustain efforts using uphill gradients and turns for momentum.

T2 – Be quick!

Given the nature of the sprint distance format, it was important to hit T2 with a very efficient process. Those who were slow through this found themselves chasing on the run. To make up 5-10 seconds lost in transition, means you need to run 5km 5-10sec faster than the fastest in the world. It is very difficult to make up this time if you are a younger less experienced athlete.

Run – Don’t blow it all in the first km. Aim to run the last 1km fast.

The fastest runner on this type of course was always going to be the aggressive athlete. The benefit of a predominantly out and back course means you can check your progress on other athletes as you negotiate the 180 degree turn at each end.

Those athletes who had trained their speed and were able to hold a threshold pace and finish well ran this course well.

The specific details of each race are available on the World Triathlon website –

Results here - https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2020_itu_world_triathlon_hamburg/352804

Course here –

https://hamburg.triathlon.org/en/elite/course/

If you do look at the results, check my emails on the run splits you need to train to and the bike speeds you need to be able to hold to attain these times. The bike email was sent out on June 24 and the run emails were sent out on July 1 and 8.

Remember to watch the races on Triathlon live TV – you always learn from watching what the best in the world do – especially when you want to beat them one day!

Train well,

Emma