The Ironman Austria Triathlon takes place in the lakeside resort city of Klagenfurt, in the summer sport paradise of Carinthia. Located some 310km south of Vienna, between Italy and Slovenia, the area is considered to be the Copacabana of the Alps and one of the most beautiful places in the world. New for 2006: The swim start will no longer take place from the beach, but will be an in-water start. The Pros will start 30 m in front of the field, the under-one-hour swimmers in the second wave, followed by the rest of the age groupers. The 180 km bike course is changed from three 60 km loops to two 90 km loops. The new course runs from Klagenfurt through Südufer to Velden. The course then continues through Rosegg, St.Niklas and anti-clockwise around Faaker See lake. From St.Niklas, the course then runs back to Velden to join the old course and continues through Schiefling, St.Egyden, Ludmannsdorf and Köttmannsdorf back to Klagenfurt. This loop will be repeated twice. The run course heads out from the transition area along the north bank of the Wörther See (read Lake Worther!) to the turning point at Krumpendorf. The gravel trail offers a welcome respite on the competitor's legs before heading into the city center, around a giant dragon, and back out for a second lap.