Excellent race, very easy to get to from the UK, we went on the overnight ferry and race HQ was only 130km drive, very relaxed way of getting to the race. After doing this race in 2017 and staying slightly out of town we decided to stay in the main race hotel 100m's from the finish and it was well worth it. Parking and getting to registration & race briefing was really easy and straightforward. It was easy to see that with this race being one of the oldest in Europe that the organisers had everything sorted and everything ran so smoothly. The race itself is really good, don't be fooled by the profile where the swim is the hilliest part of the race, the wind is brutal and makes for a very interesting race. The swim is two laps with no 'Aussie' exit just a full on 3.8km of non stop swimming. The course is very clearly marked and sighting wasn't really a problem. Only when you turn to pass the start at the half way point and when coming in to finish does it become tough as you are in to the wind and it does feel like you are swimming backwards at times. A two lap bike course is definitely a tale of two halfs, tailwind half and headwind half, easily cruise at 35/40 mph with minimal effort soon becomes 10/12 mph with all your effort. It definitely makes for an interesting bike. For the first lap you are in amongst the half distance racers and some of the narrow paths become crowded, on the second lap it does become a bit lonely. Marshalls on the bike are everywhere, which is good, as I saw a number of people give in to the temptation of hiding from the wind and rightly get pulled for a penalty. The run is 6 laps which isn't always great but it does mean the route has spectators all the way around. Plenty of aid stations and lots of marshalls and support staff looking after you. The finish area is tremendous and the organisers really get the atmosphere going for every finisher. Would definitely recommend it, participation is around 600 I think so allows for an honest race and no big packs. Very good for family and supporters as they get to see you quite a number of times.