Triathletes get feel for London, but course will change

As far as international triathlons go, Hamburg may be the largest, the Hy-Vee in Des Moines may offer the largest prize purse, and Budapest may be this year's ITU World Championship Series Grand Final. But the London event could be the most important the next couple years.

The ITU Series stopped in the British capital last week just days before the countdown to the 2012 London Olympics reached two years. Most of the triathletes in action had competed in London before and likely will again next year in an Olympic test event. But as their focus gets greater and greater on the Olympics, the more familiar they can become with their surroundings in London the better. Knowing what's around a course may be more important than knowing the actual course.

That's because professional triathletes don't just land in a new city, stroll out to the course, then swim/bike/run to exhaustion. Being ready for a race obviously requires a large amount of training, and that preparation continues right up to the start gun. And no race is bigger than the Olympics.

The elite athletes arrive in a race city days, if not weeks, in advance to acclimated, so they need to know what's at their disposal to continue the training. Is there a hotel pool or gym nearby to swim laps? A bike path to log some hours? Do healthy eating options exist close by? Is this hotel the one you want in two years?

In addition to continuing their season and striving to improve their spot in the WCS rankings, the top triathletes used this past weekend in London to get a better feel for all the extracurricular activities that go into race preparation. They were afforded another chance to compete on the course as well, but they won't follow the exact same path for the 2012 Olympic course.

"The course will change a lot before the Olympics," said Jarrod Shoemaker of the U.S., who took seventh on Sunday. "Next year it has to be on the official Olympic course as it will be the test event. The swim will be in the same place, but the bike and run will be vastly different."

The Olympic competition will still take place in the famous Hyde Park, and it will start in the Serpentine lake. Details about where it will go from there have not been released yet, but the entire race will stay within the park. The bike course this past weekend was generally flat with no climbs, but some of the tight turns are likely to be changed.

"At the moment there are a few technically-challenging corners that you have to be aware of so that you don't go down," said Sarah Haskins of the U.S., who strained a calf muscle prior to the London race and pulled out after the bike. "There have been crashes the past couple of years, so staying safe and aware is a priority."

The run course over the weekend stretched along Serpentine Road and part of South Carriage Drive, giving fans plenty of vantage points.

"Hyde Park offers the ideal venue to host an event of the magnitude of the Olympic Triathlon," said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado in a release. "The course is very spectator-friendly and will no doubt make the event one of the most memorable events of the 2012 Games. We're very excited to return to London in 2011 to test the same course set for the Olympic Games, which runs around Hyde Park."

Despite the course not being exactly the one on which they'll race in the Olympics, the athletes definitely felt the anticipation in the city.

"It is fun competing in an Olympic city as there already is a lot of Olympic buzz," Shoemaker said. "The crowds were amazing and it was one of the loudest crowds we have had all year -- next to Hamburg. The British love sports so it is always fun to compete in front of them."

Said Haskins: "Racing this course and just being in London in general gets me excited for the Games and puts into perspective how close 2012 is approaching."

London will mark the fourth Olympic triathlon, which is scheduled for Aug. 6-7, 2012. It will feature the top 55 men and women and fans will be able to watch for free.