IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii・Kohala CoastVerified
IRONMAN 70.3 Hawaii・Kohala Coast: 90 km bike leg, 727 m of climbing. Elevation profile, what the terrain asks of you, the weather this race day usually brings, and how to pace this course.
Course intel
You ride the northern half of the Kona World Championship bike leg: up the Kohala coast toward Hawi, through lava fields and rolling hills, finishing at the Fairmont Orchid. About 727 m elevation gain. In early June the Queen K has the same crosswinds and headwinds, and the lava fields give no shelter: this is a scaled-down rehearsal of the World Championship.
Source: Adapted from the official course description (the course page on ironman.com)
The terrain on this course
- Flat (±1.2%) makes up 47%
- Main climb 14.8–15.6 km: 31 m of gain (avg 4.1%)
- Main climb 40.5–41.5 km: 31 m of gain (avg 3.1%)
- Main climb 74.6–76.1 km: 66 m of gain (avg 4.4%)
Speed score
Rolling terrain is where you overspend without noticing: 20 extra watts on every little rise adds up and empties your legs for the back half. Let power touch the top of the range on the small stuff and leave it there.
Historical race-day weather (around 06-05): 24.2°C · Wind 2.7 m/s
0 to 100, and the higher it is the easier it is to post a good time. Points come off for terrain, for corners, and for the heat and wind this race has actually had over the last five years at the same time of year. Full explanation in the article “How the course score works”.