Wicklow 200 2017

Euro Fred

Registration is open for next year at €50.

A few extras this year including training plans, extra stops, variety of food and entertainment at the start and finish

http://www.wicklow200.ie/category/news/


Routes remain the same.

Don't Chute!

Just signed up there. Will be my second after 2015. Now for the inevitable struggle to get ready for it!

dahat

How lumpy is this?

iwillhtfu

dahat wrote: »

How lumpy is this?

The 100k is grand the 200k is a whole other kettle of fish. It's not so much the climbing as when the climbing takes place. I'd say there's plenty of strava segments for it and a profile on the website.

http://www.wicklow200.ie/

http://www.wicklow200.ie/the-2016-event-details/

Don't Chute!

Roughly 2700m of climbing iirc.

Euro Fred

It's the last part from Avoca that I find is the killer, the big hills you prepare for and know they are coming but the last 40k is tough.

cajonlardo

Its impressive that they've took the trouble to send out a survey and then actually paid attention to the feedback. Good on them.

retalivity

Will sign up for this.
Did a few 100k+ last year so want to improve on that. Also planning a dublin to donegal cycle, so this should help!!!

Unknown Soldier

dahat wrote: »

How lumpy is this?

You're well able for it via Strava (more so than me), just take the pedal off the gas a tad It's not a race.

cajonlardo wrote: »

Its impressive that they've took the trouble to send out a survey and then actually paid attention to the feedback. Good on them.

I hope so! My suggestions were that there be water and Gels available at set intervals. Feck the sandwiches!
Thus people could use one water bottle, and not have to carry around Gels for the duration.

#marginalgains

dahat

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

You're well able for it via Strava (more so than me), just take the pedal off the gas a tad It's not a race.



I hope so! My suggestions were that there be water and Gels available at set intervals. Feck the sandwiches!
Thus people could use one water bottle, and not have to carry around Gels for the duration.

#marginalgains

Think I might sign up, likely be a solo Misson so possibly will look to get in a group if I do sign up.

irishrover99

A bit of a change in the route would have also been nice. It's been the same now for a few years now.

nilhg

dahat wrote: »

Think I might sign up, likely be a solo Misson so possibly will look to get in a group if I do sign up.

Well worth doing if you've never had the chance, getting in a group won't be a problem, staying in it might and some of the big fast groups on the Hollywood-Baltinglass- Hacketstown leg can be big and quite hairy.

irishrover99 wrote: »

A bit of a change in the route would have also been nice. It's been the same now for a few years now.

Yeah, I'd agree, this will be my fifth year doing the same route, I also suggested to the IVCA in the survey that the option to start in West Wicklow would be nice, it's a long day when you have to drive to and from Greystones

dahat

nilhg wrote: »

Well worth doing if you've never had the chance, getting in a group won't be a problem, staying in it might and some of the big fast groups on the Hollywood-Baltinglass- Hacketstown leg can be big and quite hairy.



Yeah, I'd agree, this will be my fifth year doing the same route, I also suggested to the IVCA in the survey that the option to start in West Wicklow would be nice, it's a long day when you have to drive to and from Greystones

Well if I'm attempting a 200km around the hills I won't be at any sort of fast pace. I'll find a handy group along the way.

Is this likely to sell out?

ted1

dahat wrote: »

How lumpy is this?

Real lumpy like a bad custard , but worth doing it's a real target setter

Inquitus

dahat wrote: »

Is this likely to sell out?

Yes but not til Mar/April if not later

Eamonnator

@dahat
It's very likely to sell out.

dahat

Eamonnator wrote: »

@dahat
It's very likely to sell out.

Best not delay then, I'll try rope a club mate into it for company.

Looks a real challenge and not to be undertaken lightly.

Wishbone Ash

dahat - it's not that lumpy when you factor in the length. There are lots of boring flat bits and 2 food stops It will be no bother to you based on what you already do.

I agree with the previous comments about the route. Badly needs a change.

terrydel

Euro Fred wrote: »

Registration is open for next year at €50.

A few extras this year including training plans, extra stops, variety of food and entertainment at the start and finish

http://www.wicklow200.ie/category/news/


Routes remain the same.

So the price has gone up?! Bloody ridiculous! Training plans my arse.
Sort out the stops you had, fix the food at the end (non existant last year) and ditch the godawful medals and you'd have it sorted.
Clueless.

OleRodrigo

terrydel wrote: »

So the price has gone up?! Bloody ridiculous! Training plans my arse.
Sort out the stops you had, fix the food at the end (non existant last year) and ditch the godawful medals and you'd have it sorted.
Clueless.

If you took your hand of the outrage button and looked at it as 50 euro to cycle around Wicklow with a few thousand other cyclists, on roads that are effectively closed ( most locals make other arrangements ) with some OK grub thrown in, its not bad value.

Cant see the proceeds going to some fat cat CEO with several houses either, and some of the vets have good stories about coming 15th in some race that Kelly won back in the day.

There's not much to throw a wobbler over in fairness.

Moflojo

I've only done the WW200 once, in 2015, but I was very impressed with the organisation, marshalling and the set-up at the feed stations. My only advice for any newbies would be to keep as much energy in the tank as you can for the final 30-40km. It might be the home stretch but it is lumpy as hell with lots of short, sharp climbs and no real respite.

Don't Chute!

terrydel wrote: »

So the price has gone up?! Bloody ridiculous! Training plans my arse.
Sort out the stops you had, fix the food at the end (non existant last year) and ditch the godawful medals and you'd have it sorted.
Clueless.

Don't do it then.

Planet X

I did my first one, 1984, second year running of the event? Cycled about another five since.

Then, it was called "A Reliability Trial". Get around 200 odd kilos. There wasn't much talk about sandwiches and food, even they were provided. It's not about that. It's surely about the cyclists ability to get around the course, much like Audax these days.

ted1

Using my km in 84 was very progressive. Was cycling always in km?

dahat

Moflojo wrote: »

I've only done the WW200 once, in 2015, but I was very impressed with the organisation, marshalling and the set-up at the feed stations. My only advice for any newbies would be to keep as much energy in the tank as you can for the final 30-40km. It might be the home stretch but it is lumpy as hell with lots of short, sharp climbs and no real respite.

Any huge gradients in it as a whole? Long ass climbs I can do but short sharp 15% + gradients kill me

irishrover99

dahat wrote: »

Any huge gradients in it as a whole? Long ass climbs I can do but short sharp 15% + gradients kill me

One or two short sharp climbs/hills over 15% after the rathdrum stop towards the end. They are only very short.

Wishbone Ash

dahat wrote: »

Any huge gradients in it as a whole? Long ass climbs I can do but short sharp 15% + gradients kill me

Your 3 main long climbs:

Wicklow Gap Westwards: https://www.strava.com/segments/635753

Slieve Mann Northbound: https://www.strava.com/segments/1234683

Shay Elliott Northbound: https://www.strava.com/segments/9680758

(I can't really recall anything over 15%.)

irishrover99

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Your 3 main long climbs:

Wicklow Gap Westwards: https://www.strava.com/segments/635753

Slieve Mann Northbound: https://www.strava.com/segments/1234683

Shay Elliott Northbound: https://www.strava.com/segments/9680758

(I can't really recall anything over 15%.)

Their is a sharp left hand turn in balinacorr with a 300 meter climb that goes to about 18% according to Strava.

Ballinacor- barndarraig is the complete segment on Strava and it's over 2 km

terrydel

OleRodrigo wrote: »

If you took your hand of the outrage button and looked at it as 50 euro to cycle around Wicklow with a few thousand other cyclists, on roads that are effectively closed ( most locals make other arrangements ) with some OK grub thrown in, its not bad value.

Cant see the proceeds going to some fat cat CEO with several houses either, and some of the vets have good stories about coming 15th in some race that Kelly won back in the day.

There's not much to throw a wobbler over in fairness.

I dont care enough to be outraged. I dont see it as good value at all, even at last year's prices, and certainly compared to most other sportives. Its even less so this time given the increase.
Has the world gone so PC now, that any form of criticism is seen as too much?
I've done it numerous times, highly unlikely to do it again as things stand. Just an opinion, not outrage or a wobbler.

Arthurdaly

50 quid is very expensive especially if you ride those roads regularly. Its an iconic event I guess, most cyclist start with the WW200 and is a great stepping stone and annual target. A bloody hard day on the bike regardless of what level you ride.

Don't Chute!

And as I've already said people don't have to do it. In my experience some people will whinge and moan even if something is free and the WW 200 seems to get more than its fair share.

Beasty

ted1 wrote: »

Using my km in 84 was very progressive. Was cycling always in km?

Don't think the WW124mls483yds has the same ring to it.....

RobFowl

Beasty wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

Using my km in 84 was very progressive. Was cycling always in km?

Don't think the WW124mls483yds has the same ring to it.....

Ill do it and donate 100 to ssf if beasty rides it with me

terrydel

Don't Chute! wrote: »

And as I've already said people don't have to do it. In my experience some people will whinge and moan even if something is free and the WW 200 seems to get more than its fair share.

People are entitled to their opinion, just because they dont kiss the events arse doesnt mean they are whinging or moaning, having paid to do it numerous times I think that more than qualifies me to have an opinion, and Im not obliged to say nice things about it if I dont think they are deserving.
And I was totally of the impression I was under orders to do it for evermore til you said we dont have to do it. :rolleyes:

Beasty

RobFowl wrote: »

Ill do it and donate 100 to ssf if beasty rides it with me

Alas I'm due to be flying out to San Francisco on business that weekend

EDIT ...and I'm better suited to 200m nowadays
(That's metres, not miles!)

cjonesy1

terrydel wrote: »

People are entitled to their opinion, just because they dont kiss the events arse doesnt mean they are whinging or moaning, having paid to do it numerous times I think that more than qualifies me to have an opinion, and Im not obliged to say nice things about it if I dont think they are deserving.
And I was totally of the impression I was under orders to do it for evermore til you said we dont have to do it. :rolleyes:

Good to have your input but I'd say you're best off avoiding this thread if you're not doing it this year. You're not going to gain anything from it.

Going to give this a lash this year. Never tried it before.

terrydel

cjonesy1 wrote: »

Good to have your input but I'd say you're best off avoiding this thread if you're not doing it this year. You're not going to gain anything from it.

Going to give this a lash this year. Never tried it before.

Its a lovely route so hope you enjoy it if you do.

triggermortis

At the moment I'm planned for work that date. If I can get holiday or a swap I might just give it a go as I've not done it before

cajonlardo

cjonesy1 wrote: »

Good to have your input but I'd say you're best off avoiding this thread if you're not doing it this year. You're not going to gain anything from it.

Going to give this a lash this year. Never tried it before.

Good luck to you.

Anyone riding it will benefit from several changes that resulted from people's constructive criticism and input to the survey and the online discussions.

If everyone toed the line and pretended there was no way the event could be improved then you would have most likely seen an even further decline in services this year. Like I said earlier, good to see the organisers were serious about their survey.

AltAccount

Gonna do it, but jaysus that's an irritating sign up site - €3.50 booking fee, and a "tick here to opt in to updates about future events" tick box, but it's a compulsory field so you can't complete the order unless you opt in!

Wishbone Ash

AltAccount wrote: »

... and a "tick here to opt in to updates about future events" tick box, but it's a compulsory field so you can't complete the order unless you opt in!

Found that irritating also. I always untick those boxes but I couldn't progress without ticking it again. One for the IVCA to have a look at. (It may be an unintentional glitch).

Techo

What level would you need to be at to complete this at a reasonable pace? Only started cycling in Feb and did 7 events, last being the ROK. Did the 100k LapDeGaps which was manageable in 5hrs but don't know about the 200k.Just started training for next years events. Pace at the mo is hovering around 25km/h solo but hope to make some progress in the coming months.

Doc07

Techo wrote: »

What level would you need to be at to complete this at a reasonable pace? Only started cycling in Feb and did 7 events, last being the ROK. Did the 100k LapDeGaps which was manageable in 5hrs but don't know about the 200k.Just started training for next years events. Pace at the mo is hovering around 25km/h solo but hope to make some progress in the coming months.

You're ready, just keep up the cycling in the meantime. You have already done more than I had before I did it for first time. I've only done it twice and highly recommend it.
I would have been similar pace on solo spins as you. I had recently joined a club and group spins in the few months before certainly helped.

P_1

Currently hovering about the 21/22 kmh mark in solo spins but got up to 25/26 kmh last summer during the sportive season. This seems like a nice target to aim for. Now it's about working out if this or Graspop will sell out first in terms of paying for it

smacl

P_1 wrote: »

Currently hovering about the 21/22 kmh mark in solo spins but got up to 25/26 kmh last summer during the sportive season. This seems like a nice target to aim for. Now it's about working out if this or Graspop will sell out first in terms of paying for it

Similar enough speed for solo spins with a bit of climbing, though the WW200 usually takes be around 10 hours start to finish. As others have said, all very doable once you take a relaxed pace. Have done six of the last eight and will probably go again this year as its good encouragement to get the mileage up in the early Spring.

BoardsMember

Techo wrote: »

What level would you need to be at to complete this at a reasonable pace? Only started cycling in Feb and did 7 events, last being the ROK. Did the 100k LapDeGaps which was manageable in 5hrs but don't know about the 200k.Just started training for next years events. Pace at the mo is hovering around 25km/h solo but hope to make some progress in the coming months.

You'll be fine. Try to build some hill training in, and keep doing what you're doing. Then it is all about eating/drinking regularly on the way around, and ideally joining up with a group to share the load, in parts at least.

Unknown Soldier

Techo wrote: »

What level would you need to be at to complete this at a reasonable pace? Only started cycling in Feb and did 7 events, last being the ROK. Did the 100k LapDeGaps which was manageable in 5hrs but don't know about the 200k.Just started training for next years events. Pace at the mo is hovering around 25km/h solo but hope to make some progress in the coming months.

You'll be fine with those stats. It's 4 x 50KM spins in one day, with some climbing. Just approach it with the thought that you want to complete it, don't be setting goals.

It's a feat in itself to complete it. You get quite the warm fuzzy feeling too when you do.

I'm a disaster and I have managed it twice, at my own pace.

It's good craic too btw.

If you are into moaning like a be_atch, there will be loads of reciprocal people on the way

Make a whole day of it, don't worry about time, just get it completed!

My tip would be to drop every unnecessary "gram" on the day, I'm talking phone cover, excess keys etc.

#marginalgains

Whatwicklow

Did my first last year with a good club manager! Only for him I'd have probably burnt out chasing the skinny lads up the killmac long hill.

Take your time, Eat and drink your way around and you will enjoy it.

Macy0161

I did it last year as my first sportive. It's doable really, just take your time. I knew about the sting in the tail after Rathdrum as club spins would often be around there, so was prepared for that. The few hills on the run in to Slieve Maan, and then Slieve Maan itself was my period of struggling (under fueled/ hydrated for that stretch). I'd done Slieve Maan a few times in the run up, but always from Aughrim... Recovered by Shay, and then home roads from there to Greystones.

So my top tips for the day would be to try and get in groups on the flats (particularly Hollywood down to Balto), fuel up well in Baltinglass, and remember the climbing isn't over in Rathdrum!

I also found it handy to have done the main climbs before hand - I didn't know the hills in the run in to Slieve Maan, but at least I wasn't one of those that had the crushing disappointment of being told "no, this isn't Slieve Maan"!

Different goals next year, but that's probably the only reason I'm not planning on being back tbh.

terrydel

Techo wrote: »

What level would you need to be at to complete this at a reasonable pace? Only started cycling in Feb and did 7 events, last being the ROK. Did the 100k LapDeGaps which was manageable in 5hrs but don't know about the 200k.Just started training for next years events. Pace at the mo is hovering around 25km/h solo but hope to make some progress in the coming months.

You'll be grand if you train up to 140-150 at least a couple of times beforehand, assuming its hilly in the same mannr as the W200. LapdeGaps is a lot shorter but its a toughie imho, and Ive found W200 quite easy at times.
Pace of 25kmph means nothing tho, without specifying the type of terrain.

BoardsMember

Macy0161 wrote: »

I also found it handy to have done the main climbs before hand - I didn't know the hills in the run in to Slieve Maan, but at least I wasn't one of those that had the crushing disappointment of being told "no, this isn't Slieve Maan"!

Different goals next year, but that's probably the only reason I'm not planning on being back tbh.

This is great advice, particularly the bold part. I think anyone who has ever done the WW200 Slieve Mann route, on their first time will have been told this very disheartening news....