While there have been a couple of tweaks to the WTCS Yokohama course, for many of the athletes the route will be a familiar one.
The most immediate factor will be beyond the course itself. Two days before the scheduled start of the race, an earthquake struck Chiba to the east of Tokyo. Chiba is situated on the opposite side of the bay to Yokohama and so there may be some residual effects and issues. World Triathlon noted a contingency plan in the race briefing should there be any further seismic activity although hopefully the worst has passed.
The primary adjustment in the course dynamics are a couple of shifts to the bike route. The concept here has been to remove some of the narrower sections in the interests of athlete safety. Although twisting, turning roads can bring about great racing, they can restrict space and increase the chances of crashes.
You can see the full layout of the course below.
To start with, the athletes will dive into a two lap swim in the harbour. With a 310m swim directly to the first buoy, there is unlikely to be much advantage in pontoon position. Starting on the right of the pontoon could give the inside line to the buoys. On the one hand that could pay off if an athlete gets a fast start. On the other hand it could result in an athlete getting caught up in fighting around the buoys.
The biggest factor will be the intensity of the waves. Depending on the weather, they will influence the best line to take.
Nine laps of 4.45km on the bike will then follow.
The route includes a couple of fast corners and one dead turn. When it comes to the dynamics of the race, there’s enough to the bike to encourage an athlete to try to attack and stay away.
However there is no obvious helping hand on offer.
The straights are not quite narrow enough to penalise a large group and there is no significant hill (such as at WTCS Bermuda). There are also plenty of points in which the chase will be able to see any breakaway, which could lend a psychological advantage to the pursuers.
Any efforts to stay away on the bike, then, will almost entirely depend on the battle of the legs between the groups rather than having an aspect of the course (such as a hill) play into any athletes’ favour.
The race then finishes with four laps of 2.5km on the run. Yokohama has classically had a fast, flat run and has seen some of the fastest splits in WTCS history. Beyond a solitary dead turn each lap, there is nothing to really note about the run other than it should be conducive to pure runners hitting their stride.
No course is ever entirely flat so there will be some bumps here and there. However Yokohama should offer one of the smoothest routes of the season.
Someone like Miriam Casillas and her running ability take advantage of the route. Indeed, for that reason we suggested Yokohama could be site of her first WTCS medal. Similarly there are several other athletes in both races that could enjoy the run course and log a great finish.
