DAY 97 SATURDAY JUNE 30 KLAGENFURT

Had the hotel buffet breakfast and loaded up ready for the big race.  We do not do much work at the race but we will be up at 4am to get to the start tomorrow and will be in the hot weather all day.  Bevan and Vanessa went to register and submit their bikes and bags with clothing and food for safekeeping at the changeover stations. We caught the no. 10 bus to the Woerther See and found a huge hive of activity with people getting ready and queueing to leave clothes and bikes.  We found the finish chute

and saw a lot of grafitti on the paths where the runners would be, encouraging their friends.  We walked along the beach  where the swimmers will start at 7am and up the 300 metre canal to find the ramp where they come out of the water and run to the bike transition area.  We tried several spots to try and locate the best place to get close to the competitors.  The bike ride heads away from the town and as the temperature was 36C today and predicted 39C tomorrow we decided not to venture that direction.  Klagenfurt is more than 600 metres above sea level and the lake is fed by snowy mountains but the water in the lake was measured at 24.5C so they banned wetsuits.  Vanessa was especially disappointed to hear this because she will still feel cold at that temperature and she needs the suit to help keep her afloat in the fresh water.  We caught the bus back and had a quiet evening in the hotel.