The 112-mile bike courses at Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman Wisconsin and Ironman Canada are among the most challenging routes on the Ironman Circuit, as the average bike splits from seven 2009 Ironman races indicate. Having raced on all course, I can confirm these averages are accurate.
What bike split might you expect in your next Ironman? See averages below by race and age division for Ironman 2009 events in Lake Placid, Wisconsin, Canada, New Zealand, Arizona, Florida and Kona.
For more, see Comparison of 15 Ironman Bike Course Average Times.
Toughest/Easiest Ironman Triathlon Bike Courses
By Raymond Britt
Riding 112 miles anywhere, any time, especially after a 2.4 mile swim and before a 26.2 mile marathon, is no small task. In that light, there really is no such thing as an easy Ironman bike course. They’re all hard. For at least 6 hours, on average. Of course, there are notable differences, when you look at the averages. Here’s how bike splits at seven of the more popular Ironman races compare, overall:
[For more detail, see Average Ironman Bike Course Splits by Race and Age Division]
The Ironman Lake Placid Bike course is one of the most beautiful, but also one of the toughest 112-mile Ironman rides you’ll ever experience. Everything you’ve heard about Ironman Wisconsin is true: it’s much harder than you expect. Ironman Canada is also considered to have one of the toughest bike courses in the world.
If you’re looking for a faster bike split, New Zealand, Arizona and Florida are the places to race. But there are some challenges to consider. In New Zealand, your cycling challenges are more likely to be weather related. In Arizona, you’re likely to deal with head winds half the time. And in Florida, you’ll be riding under the blazing sun for most of your 112-mile ride.
Personally, I rate Lake Placid and Wisconsin courses as tied for toughest bike course, having ridden nearly identical bike splits in both races, year-by-year. And of course, the extremely fast Kona average is skewed by an elite field of extremely fast triathletes.
I consider Kona’s degree of difficulty akin to Ironman Wisconsin; both courses are far more challenging than they appear on any elevation chart. In Wisconsin, the never-ending undulation gets the best of many riders; in Kona, it’s the headwinds on the last 30 to 40 miles that can crack the spirit.
As for the 'fast' courses like Ironman Arizona and Ironman Florida, consider this: an Ironman bike split record has never been set on either course.
Finally, there's also the consideration of the individual rider. I've ridden nearly identical bike splits on several courses, regardless of the degree of difficulty, during what I call my Ironman 'Finisher' and 'Kona Qualifier' phases.
In my first Ironman races, the 'Finisher' phase, I rode roughly 6:15 splits in Canada, Germany, Lake Placid. During the years I qualified for Kona, I was riding 5:25 to 5:35 bike splits on the tough courses like Lake Placid and Wisconsin, but also in Austria, Florida and Arizona.
In my case, 112 miles was 112 miles, hard no matter where they were. My training and strategy put me in a position where I was going to ride a 5:35, no matter the course. The same may be true for you.
Riding 112 miles anywhere, any time, especially after a 2.4 mile swim and before a 26.2 mile marathon, is no small task. In that light, there really is no such thing as an easy Ironman bike course. They’re all hard. For at least 6 hours, on average. Of course, there are notable differences, when you look at the averages. Here’s how bike splits at seven of the more popular Ironman races compare, overall:
[For more detail, see Average Ironman Bike Course Splits by Race and Age Division]
The Ironman Lake Placid Bike course is one of the most beautiful, but also one of the toughest 112-mile Ironman rides you’ll ever experience. Everything you’ve heard about Ironman Wisconsin is true: it’s much harder than you expect. Ironman Canada is also considered to have one of the toughest bike courses in the world.
If you’re looking for a faster bike split, New Zealand, Arizona and Florida are the places to race. But there are some challenges to consider. In New Zealand, your cycling challenges are more likely to be weather related. In Arizona, you’re likely to deal with head winds half the time. And in Florida, you’ll be riding under the blazing sun for most of your 112-mile ride.
Personally, I rate Lake Placid and Wisconsin courses as tied for toughest bike course, having ridden nearly identical bike splits in both races, year-by-year. And of course, the extremely fast Kona average is skewed by an elite field of extremely fast triathletes.
I consider Kona’s degree of difficulty akin to Ironman Wisconsin; both courses are far more challenging than they appear on any elevation chart. In Wisconsin, the never-ending undulation gets the best of many riders; in Kona, it’s the headwinds on the last 30 to 40 miles that can crack the spirit.
As for the 'fast' courses like Ironman Arizona and Ironman Florida, consider this: an Ironman bike split record has never been set on either course.
Finally, there's also the consideration of the individual rider. I've ridden nearly identical bike splits on several courses, regardless of the degree of difficulty, during what I call my Ironman 'Finisher' and 'Kona Qualifier' phases.
In my first Ironman races, the 'Finisher' phase, I rode roughly 6:15 splits in Canada, Germany, Lake Placid. During the years I qualified for Kona, I was riding 5:25 to 5:35 bike splits on the tough courses like Lake Placid and Wisconsin, but also in Austria, Florida and Arizona.
In my case, 112 miles was 112 miles, hard no matter where they were. My training and strategy put me in a position where I was going to ride a 5:35, no matter the course. The same may be true for you.
Kona Qualifying Slot Allocation Rules and Examples
To qualify for Kona, you need to earn a qualifying slot. Each race allocates a certain number of Kona slots by age division, roughly according to the ages of competing participants.
Below are the slot allocation examples by race and age division for 2009 north American Ironman events. Example: if your finish time put you in the top 10 M35-39 finishers at Ironman Arizona, you would have qualified to go to Kona. For more, see Qualifying for Kona.
To see the corresponding finish times and swim/bike/run splits, visit: Kona Qualifying Times.
Allocation methodology as defined by Ironmancenter.com:
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Below are the slot allocation examples by race and age division for 2009 north American Ironman events. Example: if your finish time put you in the top 10 M35-39 finishers at Ironman Arizona, you would have qualified to go to Kona. For more, see Qualifying for Kona.
| Division | Arizona | Canada | CdA | Florida | Lake Placid | Wisconsin |
| M18-24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| M25-29 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| M30-34 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 12 |
| M35-39 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 18 |
| M40-44 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 17 |
| M45-49 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 |
| M50-54 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| M55-59 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| M60-64 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| M65-69 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| M70-74 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| M75-79 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| MPRO | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| W18-24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| W25-29 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| W30-34 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| W35-39 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| W40-44 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| W45-49 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| W50-54 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| W55-59 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| W60-64 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| W75+ | 1 | |||||
| WPRO | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
To see the corresponding finish times and swim/bike/run splits, visit: Kona Qualifying Times.
Allocation methodology as defined by Ironmancenter.com:
At least one Kona slot shall be allocated IN FULL-DISTANCE EVENTS to each five-year age-group category in which any age group athlete sends in an application, both male and female, per the age group categories listed.
Ford Ironman 70.3 California has limited Kona slots available and will allocate them as fairly as possible. Be aware that some age groups may be combined for the allocation of a Kona slot at the sole discretion of the race director. PLEASE CHECK FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON KONA SLOT ALLOCATION AT RACE REGISTRATION.
At least one Clearwater slot shall be allocated in Ironman 70.3 events to each five-year age-group category in which any age group athlete sends in an application, both male and female, per the age group categories listed.
If there are no athletes entered in the race in a particular age group, then that slot will be moved to the largest populated age group in that same gender.
For additional age group slots, slot allocation shall be representative of the actual number of age group applicants in each category in the race.
As an example, if 8% of the age-group applicants are females 40-44, then 8% of these slots would be allocated in the female 40-44 category.
Please note that at 10 percent of Ford Ironman World Championship slots at full-distance events are allocated to Professionals..i.e. 80 qualifying spots, eight are reserved for pros.
Note: All athletes must be present at Hawaii Registration to claim their spot!!!!!
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