TEMPO-SPORT Eglisauer Triathlon: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The swim is 1,100 metres downstream along the right bank of the Rhine. The organiser deliberately leaves the course unmarked; you sight off the bank, and the end is the buoyed exit ramp below the Salzhausplatz. The rolling start goes from 8:30.

The bike is two laps totalling 23.73 kilometres with 381 metres of climbing, and it begins immediately: the first ascent stands at kilometre 0.25, 780 metres averaging 5.6 percent and peaking at 12.2, with wet feet and cold legs. The core of each lap lies between kilometre 5.7 and 8.8: three climbs in sequence, including 680 metres at 6.2 percent, a good 88 metres of gain inside just over three kilometres. Between 352 and 506 metres of altitude the lap is 31 percent flat and 4.5 percent steeply uphill, and it ends higher than it starts.

The second transition is at the Schützenhaus, where the bikes stay after the race and are shuttled back later. From there 6.72 run kilometres drop point-to-point through the vineyards to the water: 90 metres up, 142 down, with 7.5 percent of the route on steep descent. The finish is at the Rhybadi, right on the Rhine.

Pacing Strategy

The Rhine swim flows with you, but only helps if you stay in the current. Because the course is unmarked, sighting off the bank matters more than pull: swim too far out and you lose the river's help, swim too close in and you lose it too. Look forward regularly and hold a constant distance from the right bank.

On the bike the first climb is the trap of the whole race. It comes 250 metres after mounting, has ramps to 12 percent, and your legs are still cold from the water. Ride it well below what is possible and take the time back over the rest of the lap. The genuine test is the block of three between kilometre 5.7 and 8.8, which you ride twice; the second pass from kilometre 16.7 to 19.9 decides the race.

The run then asks for something unfamiliar: it descends on balance, with 7.5 percent of it steeply downhill. After 380 metres of climbing on the bike the quads are poorly prepared for eccentric load, and letting the first vineyard descents run away pays out over the last kilometre and a half to the Rhybadi. Shorten the stride, raise the cadence and brake with stride length rather than with your legs.

Training plan for TEMPO-SPORT Eglisauer Triathlon: 12-week build

The Ambitious Distance takes roughly 1:45 to 2:30 depending on level. The demand is a threshold effort with pronounced spikes: seven climbs with ramps above ten percent on the bike, a circuit that is only 31 percent flat in between, and a run made of constant alternation between short rises and steep descents.

Two points decide it: the second pass of the climbing block from bike kilometre 16.7, and the vineyard descents of the first three run kilometres. The first asks for strength endurance on tired legs, the second for muscular robustness running downhill.

Bike training should therefore consist of repetitions of 2 to 5 minutes on gradients around six percent, ridden in blocks rather than singly; three climbs in sequence off short recoveries reproduce the Buchberg section. Add a session that opens with a hard climb straight from a standing start, because that is precisely what kilometre 0.25 demands.

The second focus is unusual for a triathlon: downhill running under fatigue. Build 4 to 6 descents of 400 to 800 metres into your run training regularly, with a short stride and high cadence, ideally at the end of a session or straight off the bike. Add the conditions: at the end of August the Rhine is warm and the vineyards lie unshaded in the sun. Check the two-transition logistics in advance too; bike and kit stay at the Schützenhaus while you finish at the Rhybadi.