Covestro Triathlon: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

At 8:15 the field enters the Elfrather See, on the regatta course inside the recreation area north-east of Krefeld. The central transition sits right on the bank, so the swim exit, the bike start and the run laps all touch the same point.

The bike leg is what sets this race apart: four times ten kilometres on a fully closed motorway approach road beside the lake. No junctions, no oncoming traffic, no technical section, 76.6 per cent of it level and not one climb registered anywhere in the course analysis: 3.7 metres of climbing per kilometre on a carriageway built for 100 km/h. What remains are the turnarounds at the end of each pass and the question of how long you can genuinely hold an aero position.

The run is four laps of 2.5 kilometres as an out-and-back at the Elfrather See, on flat lakeside paths with 14 metres of climbing across ten kilometres. The event has been staged since 1988 by SC Bayer 05 Uerdingen; with up to 1,500 starters across all distances it is one of Germany's largest triathlons, and because transition, run laps and finish area are packed into the same stretch of shore, you run through spectators all morning.

Pacing Strategy

A course without elevation shifts the entire pacing job onto your own discipline. Swim the 1,500 metres on the regatta lane evenly; the lane is straight and long, which tempts a quick first quarter simply because it takes so little effort to navigate.

The race is decided on the third of the four bike passes. On a completely closed, dead-straight road your concentration fades faster than your power, and that is when the position starts to soften: head up, elbows wider, speed gone. Set a target output for the headwind stretch and deliberately check riding position and cadence on every lap, rather than waiting for a feel this course never provides.

The main trap is the turnarounds. Four bike passes and four run laps mean seven bike hairpins and eight on foot; each one costs speed, and the reflex of sprinting back to target every time burns far more across the race than the turns themselves. Rebuild smoothly after each one. And expect that despite the early start in late August the run lands in the warm part of the morning, on a lakeside course with no continuous shade.

Training plan for Covestro Triathlon: 12-week build

The Olympic distance in Krefeld takes an age-group athlete roughly two and a quarter to three hours. The demand is about as uniform as triathlon gets: one long aerobic effort just under threshold, with no climbs to push you briefly above it and no descents on which to recover.

From that follows the central requirement, and it is a question of position and concentration: 60 to 75 minutes in the aero position on a closed, straight road, with no change of terrain to interrupt your posture for you. Train only on rolling ground outdoors and you will survive that span physically, but not in the position that makes it fast.

The training emphasis is therefore long threshold blocks of 2 to 3 times 20 minutes, consistently in race position on flat roads or indoors, plus re-accelerations from low speed to rehearse the seven turnarounds. Add neck and trunk work; over 40 flat kilometres it is often the neck rather than the legs that limits the aero position.

For the run, what counts is speed endurance on level ground and the transition itself: brick runs of 20 to 30 minutes straight off exactly that kind of steady ride are the key session. Add open-water swimming on long straight lanes and heat adaptation for a run that keeps getting warmer through a late-August morning.