Wicklow 200 Y2023

Great day on the bike here and I can't fault any of the organisation, food/water etc (or at least I had no issues here - I was able to get water at each stop and we topped up in Tinahely too).

Rolled out around 7.15 (delayed a bit with cars exiting M50) . Heading up towards Glencullen the temperature was warm and I was thinking this is gonna be a killer today but once we got higher it was nice and cool).

Saw the guy who feel on Sally Gap descent on a stretcher - hope he's ok. I heard from a few other cyclists they tried to close the road and divert prople on the 100k after this.

Overall tough in parts and felt a little wiped around Donard (briefly lost the group I was drafting but made it back). Surface around here was very poor and loads of lads fixing punctures on this stretch. Slieve Maan and Shay Elliot were tough and hot climbs. Fatigued around Varty reservoir but recovered soon after for an enjoyable last 25k into Bray. Got back in time for food around 5ish.

208k -3260m -24.6km/h.

Hero! I grabbed one off ya. The heat on the climb was something else too!

I marshalled at valleymount and there was plenty of food left including sandwichs, fruit cake, jellies and bars

it was a warm day and everyone seemed in good spirits at that stage, well done to all who took part

My comment was in the context that I was only a couple of km from the village - not excusing no water at the top of the climbs. I don't know whether a lot on the 100 skipped the food stop in laragh?

First time doing the 200 and overall it was well run and marshalled. No coke/fanta at Laragh when we got there but that's a first world problem.

We left just after 6am and got back to Bray at 17.15 so would have been under pressure to make the finish in time if we hadn't done that.

They definitely could do with another water stop or two on the route. I must complete the feedback survey and say that. There was loads of food and drink at Valleymount and Laragh when I got there. I thought it was really well organized. I wouldnt be keen on cycling that boreen from Hollywood to Donard again. It was quite dangerous with the road surface and the amount of cyclists coming through

Did the W200. Initial plan was to do the 150, being quite comfortable in 100K granfondos nd seeing how much more elevation this year's W200 was. Saw the price also significantly increasing compared to last year but figured it would be worth it anyway.

Road etiquette was good for the vast majority, but there were a few couples that thought taking the whole road (i.e. both feckin' lanes!) was acceptable. I'll also echo other posters re not letting cars through, especially in descents, worsened by me yelling "LET THE CARS THROUGH" and them ignoring it and zig-zagging all the way down. Certainly it should be obvious that it's in everybody's best interest to not hold up cars amongst cyclists...but I guess not, since I saw it happen three times after the Shay.

Marshalling was great except that there were a few intersections in the last 50K that had no one there. Fortunately I don't think there were any incidents.

Saw quite a few ladies that I assume are "just" club riders at the most absolutely smashing Slieve Mann and the Shay Elliot. Easily 300W FTPs. Absolutely brilliant to see 🤟

Food stops were a bit poor, I thought. No energy bars, no gels, no sports drinks - electrolytes can avoid cases of bad hyponatremia in events like this, especially if it's warm. It's probably fine if you're doing it casually, but doing a hard 200? Also witnessed them throwing boxes full of perfectly good cake (not sure what type) straight in the bin in what I assume was them packing up in Valleymount. Surely food shelters or the like would gladly take it?

Some stretches had really bad road conditions. I'm running tubeless and I'm 100% sure that saved me from a few pinch flats and one pothole coming into a heavy tree area (sun to shade) nearly F'ed my front rim. A few other areas had heavy gravel allover - I was going quite well and had a clear view so was able to warn a few that were on my wheel that readily yelled GRAVEL to the back as well, but a sign would've been most welcome.

Water running out after the Shay was absolute BS. Unacceptable and amateur hour. Saw them filling only ¾ of one of two bottles for a fella who came up behind me. Everyone had access to the same weather forecast - overcast or not, with or without patches of rain, it was going to be a very warm day. Extra water (or even extra water stops) would be tweak nr 1 for any organization paying attention.

Cut off time after the Sally Gap was ridiculous. It was a badly designed cut off, so early in a 200K event. 09h10 and they were suggesting (more like pressuring) everyone to take the 100 route. Saw a few club groups shrugging it and heading straight to the 100 route, but having paid more than 100€ in total and only being able to start at 07h40 I said feck it. The guard tried to block me "No, you can't, it's already closed." (as if the roads weren't open - LOL). Guess it's too much to ask a guard working there to know what's happening. Clipped in and pedaled away.

All in all, have no plans to do it again. One and done.

Reading through this thread I’m not sure what people want at food stops - full blown menus? Boxes of free sports nutrition products? The expectations of some are way beyond realistic.

If you commit to a 100/200 sportive for me the onus is on the participants to prepare properly with enough food to cover energy expenditure on the day.

The hot temperatures likely contributed to over consumption of water by those at the stops first.

ha yes that was myself and my dad (in the yellow KAS jersey). You were very encouraging :) and to be fair you had water on hand too. cheers!

Absolutely not ... if I've committed to a 200k sportive, taking 7-8 hours, and they have committed to supply food and water, then that is part of my plan. It's not an Audax.

Some more random thoughts from a Volunteer's perspective.

I was a marshal, moving between spots over the course of the day, covering gaps and allowing people to go for (very short) food and nature breaks. Many of us were up at 5 to be in place for 7am. That's not a moan. It's good craic and I enjoyed every minute of it. The positivity of the riders is infectious.

I ended my shift of top of the Shay around 5 and I know for a fact the water tanks were full then. That said the water issue could have been avoided and I'll certainly raise it when we get to provide feedback.

I also had some water with me and I was giving that out to people who were asking. It think nearly everyone I gave water to actually still had water and were just worried about how far it was to Laragh (5km downhill at that point). I also had a box of gels to hand as a number of my clubmates were doing the 200. Interesting how many people were quite happy to help themselves to those without asking, 5km away from a foodstop. Someone also grabbed a can of coke out of my hand as i was about to hand it to a club mate. I hope he enjoyed it.:-)

A couple of people had mechanicals but we ferried them down to Laragh to the mechanic there if the mobile mechanics couldn't sort them out.

I think I ended my day at the best spot. I've struggled up the Shay many times in all sorts of conditions but yesterday it was super tough. Seeing so many people dig really deep to find that last push over the line at the monument was pretty inspiring. And a special shout out to the kid near me who was handing out biscuits! I think those Jammy Dodgers made the day for a few people.

I know, it's crazy to expect the "premier" irish sportive to have sport drinks or even a freaking coke at the announced stops. Energy bars? I'm out of my mind surely. Or even actual water at the water stops, that would be crazy, right?

I'd rather not have to do this, but the tone of your reply is a bit much and you probably think people here haven't done other sportives or granfondos so I'll be your Huckleberry. Compare this to something like the Loch Ness sportive - at every stop you have about three different energy bars, ready made electrolyte drinks, gels PLUS the usual cake, oat cookies, etc. Three stops for a little over 100K on closed freaking roads. For less money than the Wicklow. So yeah, you'll forgive me for having expectations.