WTCS Montreal will be held over a short and fast course that could play into the hands of a number of athletes.
Whereas the race last year was held as a series of Super Sprints, with qualifiers and a final, this year’s event will be contested over the Sprint distance. Despite the switch in format, the course in Montreal shares a lot of characteristics with that of last year.
2023 Route
2022 Route
Across the above graphics, you can see how large swathes of the 2022 course have been carried forward into the 2023 route.
Both the swim exit and transition are the same as in 2022. In general, the water should be a fairly flat and sheltered from St Lawrence River. With temperatures currently in the high-20s (Celsius) a non-wetsuit swim will likely be on the cards. As such, the swim could reward pure speed over open-water technique a little more than events such as Cagliari and Yokohama.
The bike also takes on similar roads, with McGill Street featuring once again. When it comes to the bike, there are two notable points to take into account.
The first is how short the laps are. With six laps of 3.36km, the athletes should make it round the course in a matter of minutes. Even though the bike will only be 20km long, the length of the laps could open the door to some athletes being lapped out. The presence of more (and shortened) laps could also provide a psychological boost to any athletes in a breakaway as it could offer more of a sensation of progress being made.
The other point to note is the cornering on offer. With two dead turns and some fast corners, the course should test the athletes’ bike-handling skills. Moreover, with accelerations required out of such corners, it should be tough examination of the athletes’ legs
The number of corners should play into the hands of a breakaway. A larger main pack will likely be a bit slower around the runs. If a big front pack does ultimately form, positioning will be vital to avoid losing time at the back of the group.
On a similar note, there are several dead turns over the course of the 5km run. Consequently, it may be a little trickier than normal for athletes to settle into a rhythm with the frequent changes in tempo.
There is no major elevation change which means the athletes will have to use changes in pace to damage one another’s legs.
On balance, it seems likely that a large front group will form in the men’s race. With the cornering involved, the front pack might not reach the size of WTCS Yokohama but a running race seems a probable outcome.
Meanwhile, seeing as all of the women’s races this season have resulted in breakaways, it is a safe bet to predict that the pattern holds in Montreal. The course offers the potential for both a breakaway to escape and for the main pack to claw it back. The success of either party will come down to the athletes themselves.
