People planning on driving in Sooke while the Subaru International Triathlon is happening on Sunday, Aug. 7 may want to make alternate plans.A 15 km portion of West Coast Road heading west past Jordan River will be blocked off, said Paul Regensburg, triathlon director at LifeSport.”We’re looking at closing the road from the intersection (of Otter Point Road and West Coast Road),” he said.The long scenic stretch will be shut down to westbound traffic from 7 until 10:30 a.m., and eastbound from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. The closure is to accommodate the biking portion of the competition.The closure is new to this year’s event and is part of the route change that was approved late Monday by the Ministry of Transportation. The change was spurred by the district’s success in bringing television coverage for the event.”With TSN coming to produce a show, there was a strong push to showcase West Coast Road and the Pacific Marine Circle Route.”The PMCR consists of travelling on West Coast Road through Port Renfrew to Cowichan Lake and back down to Victoria, and provides viewers with ample shots of the diverse natural environment that the region has to offer, said Regensburg.The revised triathlon route will see:• Triathletes swimming across Young Lake and get on their bikes at the first transition point at Camp Barnard.• They will then then ride along Otter Point Road, turn onto West Coast Road and then past Jordan River, turn around and come back to the second transition point at John Phillips Memorial Park.• From there they will shed their bikes and run along Otter Point Road turning right on Grant Road and down Gatewood trail, come out along West Coast Road on the sidewalk and run to the tip of Whiffin Spit where they will return to the finish line at the park.Routes vary slightly depending on the competition bracket — Sprint participants perform a 500 metre swim, 20 km bike ride and 5 km run; Olympic: 1500 metre/20 km/ 5 km; Half-Iron 1900 metre/90 km/21 km.The decision to shut down traffic was to improve safety conditions that were lacking in previous years. Bikers had to coexist with traffic and other bikers as they looped around them.”As the race grows, that course just wasn’t feasible anymore,” said Regensburg, who added that this year’s enrollment is up 25 per cent and still growing.”We project it’s going to be 500 people.”Detailed race information including schedules and maps can be found online at triseries.ca/sooke.

Sooke News Mirror