Mey Generalbau Triathlon Tübingen Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The swim covers 1.5 kilometres in the Neckar along Tübingen’s riverfront before the bike course shapes the character of the day. The short distance rides a closed loop of around 22 kilometres through the Schönbuch twice — the course profile shown here depicts the bike and run legs together, around 54 kilometres with just under 600 metres of climbing; the swim comes on top.

The lap rolls without rated climbs: between kilometres 5.7 and 9.4 several short waves of 300 to 600 metres at three to five percent line up. The longest ascent follows from kilometre 9.6, stretching just under 1.4 kilometres at around 3.7 percent with pitches near eight — a good 50 metres of gain in one piece. From there the loop returns over long, fast sections; close to a third of the course is flat and the rest splits almost evenly into up and down.

Because the loop is ridden twice, everything comes a second time: the waves from kilometre 27.8, the long climb from kilometre 31.7 — then on pre-loaded legs. The closing 9.7-kilometre run follows the Neckar, crosses the Anlagenpark and the old town, and finishes over the Neckar bridge. As a stop of the German first triathlon league, the race attracts a strong field.

Pacing Strategy

The short distance in Tübingen is decided not on a single climb but on rhythm. On the rolling bike loop the constant switching between short waves and fast sections is the real load factor, not metres of continuous climbing.

The decisive passage is the second bike lap: the 1.4-kilometre ascent that barely registers at kilometre 9.6 meets tired legs at kilometre 31.7 — and everything invested too eagerly on lap one costs time here and across the 9.7 running kilometres. The main trap, accordingly, is the first series of waves from kilometre 5.7: fresh out of the water, three to five percent feels like nothing, but it sets the cadence for the whole split.

Keep power deliberately capped on the waves, carry momentum into the descents, and pedal steadily through the flat third instead of riding in surges. Ride the first lap with discipline and the second will be almost as fast — and the run afterwards markedly stronger.

12-Week Preparation

Depending on your level, plan on roughly two to three hours of racing for the short distance, considerably less in the league field. The load is mostly aerobic, but the bike leg is surgier than on a flat course: the sequence of short waves forces constant load changes with small spikes instead of one even time-trial effort. Training should target exactly that.

Decisive are the repeated waves of the second bike lap and the transition to the run. So ride intervals with short, repeated efforts on moderate gradients — 30 seconds to three minutes at three to eight percent — and practise pedalling smoothly again immediately over each crest instead of freewheeling. The longer ascent additionally asks for five minutes of even climbing at race intensity; the two together reproduce the loop in training.

Brick runs straight after hard bike sessions prepare the legs for the 9.7 fast running kilometres through the Anlagenpark and old town to the finish. For the Neckar swim, open-water practice with sighting and swimming in a dense pack pays off.

And because the bike lap lives on momentum, technique work pays twice: ride descents and fast corners with speed instead of giving it away before every wave — that is where this course hides its cheapest seconds.