The Bike Leg: 90 km and 1,169 m of Climbing Through the Algarve Interior

What we know about the course

The bike leg is a single 90 km loop that starts at the Vilamoura marina and heads into the Algarve interior, mixing countryside, coastline and inland roads before returning to transition. The official elevation gain is 1,169 m: this is no coastal cruise. Official materials describe it as hilly and rolling, with demanding sections. Third-party sources confirm it: a course with climbs and descents, while the run is completely flat.

Heads up: this is the first edition (April 3, 2027). There are no race reports, real-world splits, or feedback on road surface, dangerous corners or technical sections. Everything you read here comes from pre-race materials.

The blind spot: wind

There's no published data on wind. The Algarve is Atlantic coastline, but without race history you can't know if or where it hits. Treat it as an open variable: build a pacing plan that holds up with a headwind on exposed sections, and don't base your time estimate on a perfect day.

Pacing: repeated climbs drain your legs

1,169 m over 90 km means roughly 13 m of climbing per km: a profile that never leaves you alone. The classic mistake on courses like this is hammering every climb to "recover on the descent." It doesn't work: you arrive in T2 with empty legs in exactly the race where a flat run rewards those who dismount fresh.

What to do in practice:

• Set a watts ceiling on climbs (e.g. 105-110% of your target race power) and stick to it from the first hill.
• Only pedal descents when it pays off: above a certain speed, relax and recover.
• Train hilly rides followed by brick runs at race pace: it's the most faithful simulation of this course.

Gearing: bring a wide cassette

Without a detailed public elevation profile of the individual climbs, the safe choice is a wide cassette (e.g. 11-34) that lets you climb at a high cadence. Spinning at 85-90 rpm costs less muscularly than grinding at 65 rpm, and you pay (or cash in) the difference on the half marathon. If you're riding a TT bike, check that your derailleur can handle your chosen cassette before you leave for Portugal.

Temperature: a cool start

Forecast air temperature is 13-19 °C. You'll come out of 16 °C water and get on the bike in still-cool air, likely at the bottom of the range. Consider an extra layer in T1: arm warmers, a windproof gilet or a light jacket to shed once you warm up. Test it in training: dressing with cold hands in transition is a skill, not a detail.

Recon: do your homework first

A first edition means zero collective knowledge. An advantage for those who prepare:

1. Study the official course map as soon as the route is final and load it onto your bike computer. 2. Virtually ride the hilly sections behind Vilamoura to understand where the climbs fall across the 90 km. 3. If you arrive a few days early, ride at least the first and last 15-20 km: knowing how the return to the marina goes is gold at km 80.

The decision to make

This course punishes two profiles: anyone coming off a winter of flat trainer rides only, and anyone treating the 90 km as a time trial. If you sign up, schedule a climbing block right away (even indoors with gradient simulation) and at least three hill+flat-run bricks in the final eight weeks. Measurable goal: finish your last brick running at your target half marathon pace. If you can't, your bike pacing is too ambitious: dial it back.