I’ve only done a few loops to be honest, with all the stops and junctions it’s crap to train on.
Plus it’s dangerous and wrecks your tyres, he would never go through a red light or take risks .
He’s pretty fortunate with time and can pick his training times, dry no mad wind etc.
Pretty sure the last loop we did he had auto stop on for all of it, it’s very stop start on the urban parts.
Hopefully doing a loop the weekend if it’s dry.
He should do well this year.
The segment will take elapsed time and ignore the auto stops (to stop cheating).
There is something to be said for a good #rule9 ride though. For me, it has to be on a road or XC bike, with the correct gucci wet weather kit.
Here’s the current Top 10.
Including stops and Bolton Town Centre.
I don’t set my rides to “everyone” so don’t appear.
Top time is a TTer who went out and absolutely smashed it (lives about 3 miles off the loop in Chorley, judging by their Strava)
I was doing the same time (well, I did a 1:44 and a 1:49 yesterday - excluding stops.
The 1:44 was 1:49 including stops) as 8th overall yesterday.
I was 244W for loop one (trying!) and 215W for loop two (IM target, but felt too easy)
I recognised his name…he came 5th at IMUK overall in 2019 and did a sub 9:30 in Kona the same year.
So…if I’m doing loops the same speed as him, then I’m probably doing okay 
Does he weigh about 60kg?! That’s low power on a course like that, for the speed. How far is one of those loops again?
pass that man a trumpet 
FTFY
~50km for about 850m elevation.
It’s an insane speed.
@gingerbongo - I’ve hopped an IM trail marathon in 5:51 before. Even if I blow up in extremis, I won’t be much over 4 hours
#FamousLastWords (not the MCR song 
)
TBF, 3 loops at 1:50, plus the 30km lead is about 6:15-6:30, which I’d be pretty pleased with 
1hr swim
3.75hr hobble.
Job done 
You mean Tom “ bissegger” Rigby ?
He has one aero AF position for an unpaid triathlete, he ran 15:55? For the first 5 k in a local duathlon which he obviously won.
He’s improved since 2019.
Just stay 10 ms behind him all the way … job done!
Yeah, that’s the badger!
Guessing that was a soft pedal twice round for him, then 
He biked 5:35 ish in 2019, apparently better in two wheels now, he really is a class act.
Several members of tri preston are asking how close he will get to the paid athletes.
Got the whole Dan Bingham thing going on.
Bolton train station is a 4.5hr journey for me but I’m still tempted to go up for a ride.
I can’t remember the name of the station nearer the Flash though.
06:00->10:30 Train
10:30->17:30 Ride
17:30->22:00 Train with Beers
With all the traffic and lights it sounds like a roadie mission to me.
gives him a chance to take in the sights
You don’t want to go to the Flash!
That road up is horrific. It’s basically a dual carriageway at 1-2% incline for 20km
Bolton station is about one minute from the loop.
@Mungo2 - So very much a soft pedal for him 
anecdotally, the faster folks seem to think this course is ~20mins faster.
@Jorgan - Actually…I only drove the loop in 1hr 30mins yesterday! So, in that context, that bike speed is insane.
I’d love to ride this loop also just to see what it’s all about.
Too bloody far though.
I need to find a weekend and get my arse to Tenby and do a loop there
Pfft. Don’t you dare. 
I’d say it’s similar to Helvellyn, just more split up.
So imagine The Struggle being split into three (the bottom half is the council estate climb on Winchester Way, the middle flatter part is just one of the normal climbs, then the last part is like the Harwood Golf Club climb)
That first Helvellyn climb up to the A66?
Split that into four and that’s the rest of your climbs.
Split up the A66 and down to Ambleside into about 1,000 chunks and that’s the rest of the ride 
Lol
There’s nothing hard about it, per se.
It’s just bloody relentless.
With poor surfaces.
Going to try 90PSi on the next recce.
And a different BTA 
Have you not get tubeless that can be run at really low pressures with no pinch flats?
Don’t trust them for the big day?
Not race wheels, no
