The Bike at Melbourne 70.3: Beach Road Is Fast, but the Wind Calls the Shots

The course in two lines

90 km over two identical laps, out-and-back clockwise on Beach Road along Port Phillip Bay, on roads fully closed to traffic. Official elevation gain: 339 m, max gradient 4.8%. The turnaround is near the Mordialloc Life Saving Club; back at St Kilda you turn just north of Catani Gardens and head out for lap two. On paper it's one of the fastest half courses you'll find: flat, smooth, with bay views the whole way.

The wind is the real race

Beach Road runs right above the sea, exposed, with no shelter. With the out-and-back format you ride into the wind for half of every lap: you can't avoid it, you can only manage it. And the southern-hemisphere spring wind is fickle: it can swing from a hot northerly to south-westerly gusts in a few hours. Several race reports from the 2025 edition describe wind and rain that turned the day into a battle of attrition, with the swim cancelled due to bad weather. That's not the norm, but it's a real scenario to plan for.

The classic mistake follows a precise script: on the tailwind stretch you fly at speeds you've never seen, you get carried away, you push. Then you round the turn buoy and the bill arrives all at once. Going out too hard on the fast sections costs you dearly, and the flat half marathon that follows shows no mercy to anyone who arrives empty.

Ride to watts, not speed

On a course like this there's only one rule: a fixed power target for the entire leg, regardless of what the speedo says. With a tailwind it'll feel like you're going slow for your ability; into the wind it'll feel like you're pushing too hard for the speed you see. Both feelings are lies: trust the power meter. If you don't have a powermeter, use heart rate and perceived effort, and accept being conservative for the first 20 km. Tools like Best Bike Split let you build a course-specific pacing plan, and the route is also available virtually on Rouvy so you can study it in advance.

The Black Rock and Beaumaris ramps

The only real climbs are short ramps above the water at Black Rock and Beaumaris, never over 4.8%, which you hit twice. Ridden well, they're a footnote; attacked out of the saddle at full gas, twice, they're wasted watts that come back as cramps at the 10 km mark of the run. Easy gear, steady cadence, and settle back into your rhythm over the top without surging.

Benchmark numbers

Indicative bike splits (rough estimates, not official data): 3:20 for a relaxed finisher, 2:55 for a mid-pack goal, 2:35 for a fast goal, 2:20 for top age-group. The bike cut-off is 5:30 from your individual start: generous, but with a strong headwind your margins shrink faster than you think.

What to do now

• Set your power target for the 90 km and test it on a 2:30 long ride with a headwind section: if you can't hold it there, you won't hold it on race day.
• Do at least two rides in race setup with crosswinds to learn how your bike handles with the wheels you'll race on; if you're light or not fully confident, consider a mid-depth rim instead of deep-section.
• Train the short ramps seated: 6-8 reps of 1-2 minutes at 4-5% staying below threshold.
• Prepare two pacing scenarios: calm day and windy day, with different target watts. Decide on race morning, not halfway through the first lap.