Bike Course Recce: TriStar Milton Keynes

“This is a quick and fun course, 2 large 40km laps and a short quick 20km lap. There are very few technical observations but, as with all great bike courses, few short sharp hills to keep variety.

“Coming out of Transition riders will find themselves straight on the TT bars as they find their comfort zone for a few minutes into the Village of Olney. Once on the village they take a wide sweeping left hand turn which gradually take on the first small incline of the day. Not a hill needing to drop out of the big ring and probably a good chance to take on a slurp of water to clear the swim out of your system.

“At the top of the hill is a small roundabout and for the first 2 laps the riders take a right turn and continue climbing, on the third lap the option is much more enticing with a descent. On the longer laps you are faced with a longer bit of climbing after the roundabout. After a 1-2km a quick descent allows you the chance to refresh your legs after the climb leading into another small roundabout and sharp left turn. Start braking early for the turn will come in at quite a pace.

“The ride is undulating for the next 10km: stay in your big chain ring and get your legs into a comfortable rhythm turning over. At the furthest point of the course there is a sharp left hand turn into a narrow country lane. It is worth taking a bit of care turning here as there is a bit of debris and gravel in the road which could disrupt a tyre if taken too aggressively.

“More of the same while on the narrow lane before the ride opens up onto a wider road. A lot of the same undulating roads with a variety of pacey false flats and long comfortable descents. As you near Newport Pagnell there is another left hand turn which requires some concentration. If you are confident change down gear before the turn, come in quick and brake late, dropping the gear beforehand will let you accelerate and soon and the bend is over.

“Get back on your Aero Bars as soon as you can and find that rhythm as it is shortly going to get disrupted. A couple of km’s later is the short sharp kicker of Chichely Hill, for the first 2laps this will probably be easy enough in the big ring but you may want to save your legs a bit on the third lap as you are nearing the run. It is not a long climb so ride it with confidence and there is rest-bite at the top turning left and into the main drag on the way home.

“Unfortunately this main drag of 2km is gradually climbing continually getting steeper, stay strong and you will reap the benefits as you reach the brow it is fast downhill all the way home (or onto lap 2 or 3).

“It is definitely a fun ride and one to be ridden with the utmost confidence. There was little traffic on Sunday morning and I would expect the same for Race day (the course selection is ideal as the roads are wide). At most points, unless you are leading, you will have an open view of rider in front to target giving you the chance to set you 100km PB.”

Here are our splits for the day and a few notes on the Map (Thanks goes to Dan for sharing his ride data with us.)

So there you have it. We hope that this is helpful and allows you to enjoy the course to the utmost.

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