I keep thinking I should make a video for this since it’s easier to watch than describe! Overall, as with your race, keep your wits about you. If something doesn’t go perfectly, let it go. Just keep your head, remain calm, and execute. I’ve made more mistakes in transition trying to get things perfect than any other way; once I accepted it was never going to be perfect, I got even faster through it.
Anyway, so stuff I do:
Key to transition is your setup:
- Be a minimalist. If you’re doing a sprint under an hour, you probably don’t need water or any kind of nutrition. No bottles or cages on your bike; if you must, a bottle in transition for a quick swig of water. You don’t need socks as long as you’ve got your feet conditioned to it. Literally the only thing I have on my transition towel when I go to the water is my running shoes, maybe sunglasses (arms open, of course!).
- Race belt with number goes on under your wetsuit. When your wetsuit comes off, your race belt is already on. Yep, it’s wet, but it’ll hold up.
- Helmet goes on your aerobars so you have to put it on before grabbing the bike off the rack. Don’t mess with sunglasses - use a helmet visor if you have one (it’s also more aero).
- I clip my bike shoes (Sidi tri shoes) into the pedals. I use rubber bands through the big loop in the back to hold them level. The left band goes over the quick release on the rear axle; the right I usually hook around the front derailleur mount. Then I can run out of T1 and do a flying mount onto the bike, and get my feet in the shoes. Start pedaling, 80% of the time the rubber bands break and fall away, the other 20 you might have to pull one off while moving… no big deal. I worry about strapping my shoes in when I’m already moving at a decent pace. This takes practice.
T1 Execution:
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Exiting the water, cap and goggles come off and into one hand.
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“Half mast” your wetsuit as you run from water to transition. Unzip, arms out, and fold halfway down. As you pull the sleeves off, simply let go of your cap and goggles in the sleeve; hold that sleeve as you run to keep it out of the way. This helps make sure all your stuff stays together, too. Here’s what this looks like, right out of the water:
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Don’t run too hard… but run. Nice aerobic pace such that you’re catching your breath a bit, but still moving well and maybe passing people.
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PRACTICE taking your wetsuit off. It should be one or two big pushes to get it over your butt and to your shins, then if it fits right and you’ve practiced, you should be able to simply step on your suit with one foot, and kick your other foot out of your suit… repeat… you’re out. A little bit of body glide on your achilles can help.
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Once the suit is off, flip it out of the way, helmet on, grab bike, push the button on your computer, and run to the exit. I usually run with my bike while holding the seat, but again, that takes some practice. I find I can move faster/better when holding the seat.
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Flying mount across the mount line. If you miss your shoes, pedal on top of your shoes until you get up to speed (close to race speed), then pull off to the right as you slow down and strap in. Point is, be moving the whole time. Use single pedal strokes to keep speed if you need to. PRACTICE
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You can do a flying mount without rubber bands, just practice getting into your shoes while moving either way. In fact, it’s a good idea to get proficient at pedaling on top of your shoes and getting into your shoes while moving, in the event that you miss your shoes on your mount… which happens.
T2:
- Flying dismount: Maybe 200m short of transition, unstrap your shoes. I do this by unstrapping one shoe, pedaling a couple of times, then hitting the other. Holding speed… remove your feet from the shoes and pedal on top of your shoes in a similar fashion. One foot out, pedal a few strokes, other foot out. Pedal on your shoes as needed… As you approach transition the final 20m or so, take your right leg up over your seat behind you, keep your weight on your left foot and lean your bike to the right if you need to. Roll the final few meters to the dismount line as you brake, then step off… always on the non-drive side. (A few pros are going drive side now… no idea why you’d want to do that.) PRACTICE THIS. When I’m rusty, I’ll unclip my left shoe when I’m stepping off. You shouldn’t.
- Once you’re off, grab your seat and run to your spot.
- Rack your bike first, then helmet off.
- Running shoes on. Use some kind of speed lacing system. I like Xtenex X laces personally, but whatever works for you.
- Run out of transition.
T1 should take 20 seconds or less at your spot. T2 should take about 10. You only get like this… with practice. Short distance triathlon is a four-sport event: Swim-Bike-Run+transitions. In some cases, I’ve seen guys spend as much time in transition as they do in the water. Many people, especially those who typically race 70.3s and Iron distance just don’t practice transitions for sprints. You can have a real advantage if you dial it in and practice it. Like… minutes in some cases.
Check out YouTube; there are lots of videos on flying mounts and dismounts, probably a few on transition execution as well. But that’s my guide going on 13 years of triathloning, with the majority being sprints.