IRONMAN 70.3 Shanghai・ChongmingVerified
IRONMAN 70.3 Shanghai・Chongming: 90 km bike leg, 79 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
Start at the north gate of Guangming Tianyuan onto Beiyan Road, ride 22.5 km to a U-turn, come back to 200 m before the junction and U-turn again, two laps for 90 km. Completely flat (under 100 m of elevation gain). Chongming Island in mid-May is windy with no shelter, and the wind direction flipping between the outbound and return legs is the only variable.
Source: Adapted from the official course description (the course page on ironman.com)
The terrain on this course
- Flat (±1.2%) makes up 97%
- No significant climbing: what matters is handling the wind and holding your power steady
Speed score
The wind here is part of the terrain: ride the headwind sections to your range, not to the speedometer, and in crosswinds relax your upper body and stay low. The plan already has wind in every segment, so just ride the numbers.
Historical race-day weather (around 05-18): 22.1°C · Wind 4.2 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”.