The Tauranga Half offers a new course this year - taking advantage of the new motorway to lessen the amount of time we spend annoying local residents.
There has been discussion of whether the new course will be faster or slower than the old. Unfortunately my analysis shows that theoretically it will only be faster if it is shorter or if the road surface is significantly better than I recall.
There is a false flat (according to mapping software) on the way to the far turn that saps about 30s all other things being equal. Additionally there are elements I haven't factored like the mandatory single file and sitting up zones which will rob a little more speed.
Of course, in the real world over 90km, things aren't equal. I shall, of course, analyse the results after the event to determine whether riders managed to go faster or slower.
Weather Conditions
Speaking of things not being equal. The forecast weather should save about 2 minutes compared to 2020 conditions.
It will be a crosswind from the inland side all day, but the higher temperatures and lower pressure lead to lower air density which means less resistance. Further to that - the forecast wind is exactly the right angle to potentially give you a little bit of a boost in both directions (I'm afraid this sailing effect works best when you're going really fast).
So don't worry about the course change - the weather should more than compensate for the possibly slower route.