This is a beautiful course at the International Regatta Centre, with an amazing bike course cycling through the foothills of the Blue Mountains. This was my second time racing here, and unfortunately the organisation and traffic management were extremely poor both years. What’s especially frustrating is that the organisers acknowledged last year’s congestion and claimed changes had been made, yet this year was just as bad, if not worse. The venue is effectively only accessible by car, forcing thousands of vehicles to approach from the same direction and creating inevitable congestion.
Athletes were abandoning their cars and running to transition with their gear. Hundreds of people were stuck in bumper‑to‑bumper traffic for over an hour, with some athletes arriving 40 minutes after transition had already closed. To make matters worse, event staff were not in the slightest bit understanding and started shouting at athletes in transition who were already highly stressed. If they didnt allow people into transition there would have been a high number of DNFs
I live in Sydney, so the location is convenient, but I couldn’t in good faith recommend this event to someone