Dear Athletes,
Today we continue the World Triathlon Development Team series of RACE PREVIEWS.
As athletes you all know that there is only so much training volume you can take on but what is unlimited is the skill and development an athlete can take into a race that allows them to race a course better and faster.
Looking at previous races is a great way to preview a course. Today we look at the Karlovy Vary pace in the Czech Republic. This is one of the toughest races on the circuit and notorious for the number of athletes who are lapped out on the bike due to its difficulty.
When analysing the course, it is obvious the most well prepared athlete will do well and all athletes will be tested by the race.
A brief look at the details –
Karlovy Vary is a World Cup event in the Czech Republic.
Race Date - 11 September
Classic format
1500m, 2 lap swim
40km consisting of a 6.5km connection route to 7 lap course
10km, 4 lap run.
The course is challenging from the start.
The swim is a dive start from a curved pontoon. The ends would appear to be the best positions as they not only keep athletes away from the chaos of the middle but also appear to be closer to the first buoy. The swim is two laps, which differ slightly. The mid-point exit is a ramp with a u-turn run to dive in to commence the second lap. At the completion of the swim, the exit is also a ramp very close to T1.
The bike commences on a narrow section of path following the edge of the lake for about 400m to take the athletes onto the main road. These are gradients along the 6.5km section to the main looped course in town. Cobbled areas, speed humps, drain covers, road paint and some areas of road potholes are throughout the course. There is also a tunnel which in the past athletes have crashed in, so be careful of the change of visibility and light combined with the hazardous section of road. Once the 6.5km connection road has been completed, the athletes are onto the looped main course.
The hills become steeper and packs begin to break up through these sections. It is important athletes also know how to descent well, because the tough uphill sections are followed by descents. Everything becomes increasingly difficult if wet – which fortunately is not likely to take place.
Many athletes do record DNF’s in Karlovy Vary due to the difficulty of the course, and as an indication of what is required to race well, top men record an average power of 230-240 and the women 170-180 power average.
T2 is simple, but you need to be efficient.
The run is tough like the bike. There are cobbled sections, which will be hard on the feet and more tough hills and descents to negotiate. Athletes must be able to run uphill well but also descend quickly.
The final course details are published on triathlon.org here and will be presented at the Athlete briefing.
View the video HERE
Race well
Emma Carney (AUS)
