Winding bike route will be challenge

Ironman competitors will have to complete every inch of the 70.3-mile route this Sunday during the ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta, but the 56 miles that make up the bike portion may be the leg where the race is won or lost.

After a 1.2-mile swim down the Savannah River, race competitors will make the transition to their bikes near the Augusta Boathouse. They'll pedal their way down Sandbar Ferry Road and eventually into South Carolina for 56 miles of roadway spread through the southern portion of Aiken County.

Greater Augusta Sports Council event manager Randy DuTeau calls the course "pretty" and "rural." Many of the competitors who have completed a few practice runs express another feeling toward the long, winding course.

The multiple hills that pop up across the countryside have been incorporated into the race, and a competitors' ability to conquer those climbs could make the difference. Tom Crute, an Augusta State professor competing in his seventh Ironman event, said those hills, particularly the climb on Horse Creek Road, could bring a competitors' momentum to a halt.

"You're two-thirds of the way into it, so you're already a little bit on the tired side," Crute said. "Then you hit that. They're some long, grinding hills and you just hope you saved some energy for them."

The bike route will take the competitors to Jackson, S.C., before it turns northeast to run alongside the Savannah River Site and into New Ellenton. From there the race will wind back through Aiken County and onto Pine Log Road, where it will meet back up with Sandbar Ferry Road for the return journey to Augusta.

Race director Bill Burke said the original plan called for a smaller, double-loop course.

"The bike course was the hardest to pick out, and I actually went with a double-loop at first," he said. "But as the race got bigger, it became clear a double-loop course would be too dangerous. We'd just have too many out there."

DuTeau said the roads in Aiken County won't be completely closed, but there will be restricted access for vehicles at some spots, especially at major intersections. Sheriff's departments from Aiken County, Jackson and New Ellenton will assist in directing traffic away from the bike portion of the race, which is expected to take place from 7:55 a.m.-2 p.m.

The bike portion will finish back near the starting point at the Augusta Boathouse, where the final portion -- a 13.1-mile run -- will begin.

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com