123 mile bike - 9:24:59 (9:12.12 riding time) 15276 feet elevation gain, 5 mountain passes Forcola Pass (10.2 miles, 1634 feet, 52 minutes) It didn’t take long for me to warm up as once I got out of the town of Livigno, I started to climb the first mountain pass. The grade was gentle but it was a noticeable climb for 10 miles. My legs were tired and I didn’t feel like my normal self so I just focused on trying to find a good rhythm. The grade averaged around 3-5% which is one of my favorite climbing grades so that helped as nothing was steep. The support cars are not allowed to pace the athletes so Karel and I had a strategy that he would drive up next to me, I would tell him what I needed/wanted and then he would find a good place to stop to give me what I needed. Support crews also can not give aid while moving in the car, the car has to be stopped. Anytime I needed a drink or food, Karel would give it to me on an uphill (because it’s easier for him to run next to me and hand me...
3x Author, Board Certified Sports Dietitian, Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, 20 x Ironman finisher, 3x XTRI finisher, 6xIM World Championship finisher, Triathlon Coach, 32-year Vegetarian. Trimarnicoach.com