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It will take someone much smarter than me to figure it out what this comparative actually means, but I wanted to see it side by side. If you’ve done both courses, I’d love to hear your input (Racer K?).
Below, I have created a custom graphic from the Ironman Bike Course data and it appears to be a fair comparison considering roughly 400 feet of elevation range in both. I’m trying to decide what to make of this, but the one thing I really like is how Louisville ends. I handled Wisconsin pretty well until the last twenty five miles or so when it was deceptively uphill and into the wind. Louisville appears to be forgiving from mile 90 or so on.
Wisconsin looks to have longer and steeper climbs and descents while Louisville is more of a constant grind. I “got away with” not much time in aero at IMWI, but seems like it may be more prevalent in Louisville. Which, could actually be a good thing if I ever get comfortable.
It will likely be at least 10 degrees hotter in Louisville, so I’m preparing for that by wearing long sleeves and hats more often in training. I’m open to any other hot weather training tips.
I’m still a little miffed by the gain differential of 2,890 vs. 5,375, so if someone could explain that, awesome. I rode 6:04 at Wisconsin and based on the gain, it looks like I’m in for a battle at Louisville.
For a LOT more on IRONMAN WISCONSIN, check out this complete course breakdown on the Crushing Iron Podcast.