Subject: RE: Napa Valley Vintage Tri I did both the Napa Valley Vintage and Vineman last year and in my opinion found Napa Valley Vintage to be a much more difficult course.
Napa Valley had a better swim venue, but it was a bit short. I did not like how the shallowness at vineman created a lot of walking, but its a gorgeous venue with the redwoods and low hanging fog.
The Napa Valley bike course is sawtooth profile, you are either going up or down, maybe a few flat sections. Vineman was a much easier bike course, chalk hill was over hyped in my opinion. Also Napa Valley Vintage had some extremely rough sections of road.
The run at Napa Valley is a similar saw tooth profile to its bike, constant up and downs, profile on their website was misleading (not sure if it has been changed ). I think both run courses were equally challenging as vineman had lots of hills and you are exposed to the sun the entire way.
As for the race directors I thought both were run very well. I did like the low key feel at Napa, but I also liked the energy at Vineman. The cost of napa valley was a bit cheaper as well I think.
The other thing is weather at Napa Valley is a gamble. This last year was pretty warm, but the year before was raining and cold. Vineman is usually always hot due to its date.
Tough decision, kinda depends what you are looking for in a race cost/timing/weather/difficulty etc. I say do them both and judge for yourself! Good luck and hope you enjoy whichever you choose. |