Race Day at 70.3 San Juan: Timeline, Common Mistakes, and Plan B

A half is won in the details of the days before just as much as in the water and on the tarmac. Here's the reasoned timeline for this specific race, with the common mistakes and the backup plans.

The Week Before

Arrive with a buffer. The race venue is at Las Tapias, roughly 925 m of elevation, in Argentina. If you're coming from Europe you've got jet lag, a long trip, and a bike to reassemble. Every extra day of margin reduces stress.

Download the athlete guide. Cut-off times, T1/T2 details, and bike check-in hours weren't published on the official pages consulted when writing this guide: they'll be in the athlete guide. Read it all, twice.

Watch the wetsuit announcements. The official average water temperature is 20 °C: wetsuit very likely, but the official call comes close to the start. Bring a non-wetsuit swim plan anyway, just in case.

Check the local weather. There's no verified public wind data for this race. The forecasts in the days before are your only source: if wind is announced, revise your bike plan thinking in watts, not speed.

The Day Before

• Bike check-in according to the athlete guide procedures (hours not available in current sources: verify them).
• Light recon: if you can, see the 1-3% false flat section of the bike in person. It's the segment the third-party profile lists as the longest after the flat, and it's where you lose time without noticing.
• Mentally prep two clothing bags: average lows are 11 °C. Arm warmers or a vest for the first part of the bike are a sensible choice, especially since you come out of the swim wet from 20 °C water.

Race Morning

Dress in layers. With an average low of 11 °C, the pre-start wait is cold. Bring old clothes to discard or a bag to hand in, depending on what the organization allows.

Enter the water gradually. 20 °C isn't cold water, but the shock of first contact is real. If there's an in-water warm-up, use it: splash your face and the back of your neck before the start. The reservoir water is still: no waves, no current. Take advantage of it to start controlled and find a draft early.

The Four Common Mistakes on This Course

1. Going hard in the first 20 km of the bike. The 925 m of altitude adds a small extra effort for anyone living at sea level. Burn the first 20 km and you pay for it over the following 53 km of flat. 2. Pushing on the 1-3% false flat. It doesn't look like a climb, your speed drops, and the instinctive reaction is to push harder. Hold the same watts as the flat. 3. Trusting a single elevation figure. Official 334 m, third parties around 553 m. Plan gearing and estimates on the range, not on one number. 4. Starting the run over pace. 21 km with more than 18 km of pure flat: no downhill will give back what you spend in the first 5 km. Target pace from km 1, defended to the end.

Plan B: Three Scenarios

• Strong wind: power target unchanged on the bike, speed free to float, finish-time expectations revised without drama.
• Wetsuit banned: unlikely with 20 °C averages, but if it happens, dial back expectations on the swim split and claw it back on the bike with patience. Our split estimates, from the 6:50 finisher to the 4:25 top age-grouper, are guidelines: adapt them to real conditions.
• Colder morning than expected: the vest in T1 costs 20 seconds and saves the first hour of the bike. Decide the temperature threshold below which you wear it, and decide it before the race, not at 6 a.m.

The Only Rule That Matters

This course rewards steady athletes and punishes improvisers. Every important decision — pacing, clothing, gearing, wind plan — must be made before race day. On race day you execute, you don't invent.