Aerobars at Bintan

A lot of it is flat or very gentle inclines (if it's the same as last year). It is also reasonably straight so I would say net benefit.

Flat??? Gentle inclines???? Were we doing the same course??? I remember nothing but uphill for the first half!  To be fair, there were plenty of what I might call rolling hills and no particularly steep descents. Plenty of people used aerobars, including most of the people who passed me. Okay, I suck as a biker!  Aerobars would probably provide an advantage, if you can get comfortable with them. But do be aware of a few hazard spots--they should point them out at the pre-race briefing. One is early on in the bike course where you go over some cobblestone-type pavement. The women's leader wiped out there last year and DNF'd, giving me an ill-fated 2 minutes of glory (I'd been second on the swim) before the pack screamed by me.  And you definitely don't want to be in aero at the very end--the finish was designed by a sicko. You go down a screaming downhill to the beach for maybe 400m, do a sharp u-turn, and back up the hill, sharp left, then another screaming downhill to the dismount line. I'd just had it by that point and was muttering cusswords. Definitely get out of aero there!

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Just don't use my bike split as a model or a goal! You can check my race report if you want the blow-by-blow of what, after the swim, was pretty much unmitigated misery!

Jeff has done laguna Phuket so that is why I said gentle as compared to that course bin tan is flat a perfect day for you would be to get Karens swim and run with my bike. The run is hotter than you might think being the afternoon so really concentrate on fluids during the ride.I won't be racing this year as I didnt get organized quickly enough for accommodation but best of luck and look forward to reading about your sub 2:50 time!

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Thanks for the offer but what I really enjoyed last year was the family side to it. Without that it becomes a very expensive race. Entry fee, ferry ticket, bike slot and the galling 25 USD visa I would have loved to do it again but missed out on the accom through my own tardiness. Will be booking next year as soon as the race date is released!Have a great race and let me know if there is anything a local can help with.

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