Course designer, CyclocrossWorld.com's very own Stu Thorne, says about the Mercer venue:

This is a course for the powerful racers.  The first turn after the start will be critical and it leads into a long, slow grind into the false flats on far-side of the course.  The sand pits - three in a row -  are long and favor the strongest,  technical riders.  On the final lap, the race could turn on a strategic run through the pits.  The pit is located fairly  close to the finish and right before the fly-over.  The person who gets a good bike change in the pits would be positioned well for the last trip over the fly-over, into the technical section along the lake into the final gravelly turn onto the long up-hill  sprint to the finish.

In general, with the fly-over, sand and grass there is more than enough on offer on this course to make it very interesting! Throw in the strong winds coming off the lake and we're in for a great weekend of racing.