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Ironman Copenhagen or Maastricht? Any feedback or preferences?

Pedro VamosPedro Vamos
in Triathlon

Hi.  Looking to do my first Ironman and interested in Copenhagen or Maastricht. Does anyone have any advice or preferences on either?  Any feedback appreciated.  Thanks

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    Flat FootedFlat Footed ✭✭✭
    I think the Wild Will has just done Maastrict and RidgeBack Max is doing Copenhagen this weekend, I'm sure they will give you a good review of both.
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    Flat FootedFlat Footed ✭✭✭
    In fact I think Will has already done a post about his race on another thread
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    M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭
    I've done Copenhagen. It was 'alright'. Not high on my list of great races. I don't know anyone who has done both to compare the two though.
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    BasherBasher ✭✭✭

    I did Maastricht this year. My first Ironman so have nothing to compare it with, it was a great day all round with great support in a beautiful city. I didn't like the bike course, not bothered by the hills but lots and lots of 90 degree turns and the road surfaces were not as good as I had expected in Europe. 

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    BoooBooo ✭✭✭

    I did Maastricht this year but not having done Copenhagen I can't really compare, but my thoughts on Maastricht are: 

    Swim: Straight forward up and down in the river with a quick Australian exit at the turn point. Upstream for first half, although flow not really noticeable against, but definitely does give a faster second half though on the downhill leg. Nice enough, somewhat murky round the Parliament building though.
     
    Bike: Bit mixed really, Probably best described as gently rolling with a couple of 'hills' but nothing spectacular (although FOFF hill did nearly kill me on second lap). As mentioned before though let down a bit by a lot of tight turns and some poor road surfaces (concrete slabs, and cobbles ... oh those bloody cobbles!). 

    Run: Best bit of the race. 4 laps through the city (with a nice detour through a park for a bit of 'reflection time'). The support on the run course is phenomenal, the people of Maastricht really turn out and every half mile or so there was another raucous street party going on to keep you going. (and the Dutch really got in to the 'piraat!!!' vibe image )


    Overall setup: Organisation was top notch with Swim, T1 and T2 all in the same place, and only a short walk from the finish line. Finish itself was in the town square which again provide for excellent atmosphere.

    If you can deal with the shortcomings of the bike course (and its only certain sections of it) then I would definitely recommend Maastricht.

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    WildWillWildWill ✭✭✭

    My Maastricht race report

    http://www.pirateshipoffools.co.uk/?p=2001#more-2001

     

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    Pedro VamosPedro Vamos

    Thanks All - much appreciated!

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    RidgebackmaxRidgebackmax ✭✭✭

    Copenhagen

    fantastic city and a great race especially as a first IM

    the swim is in a sheltered sea estuary it's a staggered start so makes for a nice relaxed swim no biff you swim under a number of bridges with supporters cheering you on from above image

    the bike is 2 laps the outward leg is flat along the coastline and rocket ship fast the return is more rural very scenic with some hills but nothing extreme. Support is good especially on the climbs coming back into town. The roads are in fantastic condition

    the run is 4 laps of the city centre pretty much flat the support is massive all around the course and the city is amazing

    all in all a fantastic race which would be a great venue for a Pirate sailing

    one word of caution Denmark is not cheap!!image

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    Iron RoseIron Rose

    My race report for Copenhagen is on my site ironrosey.com

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    Young Victor MeldrewYoung Victor Meldrew

    Maastricht was my first Ironman and I loved it. From a newbie perspective, it was incredibly well-organised and the marshalls/volunteers were great.

    The swim was great and all ran smoothly. Transition was great and I didn't have any issues here. The bike leg was tough (a lot tougher than I had expected). Not so much the hills, but it seemed like a very twisty course. Pretty sure I spent more time cornering than anything else. This wasn't made easier by the mixture of wind, rain and cobbles, but maybe it would have felt easier on a nicer day (I should've cycled faster to beat the weather!).

    The run was one of the best experiences of my life. Oh so painful, but the atmosphere was incredible and the place was rocking. The dutch know how to party, and there was a big spanish group who were a lot of fun.

     

    I'd definitely recommend it, but like others have said, it's worth making sure you're a capable bike handler in wet and slippy conditions.

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