March 21, 2007 --
Press Release: The next best thing to riding the 2007 McDonald’s ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championship course is having Tom Jeffrey give his analysis. He’s an experienced and accomplished duathlete and lives in Richmond, VA. He’s had the opportunity to view the course first-hand and his vast experience in duathlons includes competing in three Short Course Duathlon World Championships and the last two Long Course World Championships, placing 10th in Denmark last year. Tom offers his opinion of the course from the athlete’s perspective below and his commentary serves to enhance the newly-launched interactive map and elevation chart on duathlonworlds.com. By studying the new map which has kilometer markings and pictures of the course along with Jeffrey’s thoughts, you’ll know the course inside and out in preparation for the October 21 event.
“My overall impression of the run course is that it will be very fast. It is extremely flat and the turnaround will be the only possible slowdown,” says Jeffrey who is a top distance runner placing 19th at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in 2000. The run on the long distance course in Richmond consists of a 7.5 km loop that will be run twice the first time, then once after the bike.
As for the bike course, Tom notes, “my sense is that most of the turns on the course are sweeping and gradual. There are not very many hard corners, and athletes will be able to carry momentum through them.”
Tom notes “the biggest difference between this year’s course in Richmond and previous Long Courses is that Richmond’s is in the city itself and thus more technical and exciting.” In comparison, past courses have been more rural and in neighborhood settings while Richmond’s will showcase the city’s parks that surround the James River.
The course offers a great deal of diversity in the center of a metropolitan area and has also played host to the past eight XTERRA East Coast Championships. The Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers hosted those XTERRA events and are also organizers of the 2007 McDonald’s ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championship. They have a strong track record of running successful events and were recently named “Best Sports Commission in America” by the National Association of Sports Commission.
The Sports Backers have designed the bike course to include four loops around an 18km course. This may cause some athletes to be concerned about drafting, but Jeffrey feels there is enough terrain to break things up and spread the bikers out.
“There aren’t any real steep hills on the bike course, so there’s nothing remarkable about the gearing. And if athletes are wondering whether to use a road bike versus a time trial bike, time trial is definitely the way to go.”
“The bridges on the course will be windy, but fast. And there are a lot of sweeping bends on Riverside Drive, which will be a little technical for riders. One element that might be somewhat surprising is that there is a long section of uphill road leading up to Byrd Park. It’s not as noticeable until you ride it. This will also help string out the riders and break them up so packs won’t be as much of an issue.”
Jeffrey says that once the riders are in Byrd Park, they’ll be able to stay in their aerobars a majority of the time because most of the turns are sweeping and gradual.
Jeffrey is excited about having the race in is hometown. Richmond offers a great amount of history and culture to its visitors and families can travel a short distance to Virginia Beach or Shenandoah National Park after the event.
Tom thinks the transition area in the city will be a big crowd draw. “I’m anxious to show off my city and the unique venue. The downtown setting will be exciting and the course truly has a little bit of everything including hills, technical corners, and fast sections, which will be a real test for the world-class athletes.”