Transition - the 4th discipline

Transition is often referred to as the 4th discipline of Triathlon, it's something that all of us should practice, but it's often neglected. It's the part of the race where big time gains can be made or lost.

Although far, far more can affect your race and training during the swim, bike and run disciplines, it's often the transitions that most multisport novices worry about the most. It doesn't have to be this way though, so I hope that this article is of use and will help to dispel some of the fears that people have regarding transitions. 

Setting up your transition

Transitions are often cramped and hectic spaces and can appear quite daunting to people who are new to the sport, with the hussle and bussle of everyone setting out their kit in their own individual ways, so that things flow smoothly as you go through transition 1 (T1) and transition 2 (T2). Just try to relax and go through things slowly and methodically and you'll be fine.

The first thing to do when you're setting up in transition is to find your number on the racking and put your bike on it. The numbers will usually alternate with one bike pointing one way and the one next to it pointing the other. Most athletes will rack their bike by hooking the saddle on the transition rail, although some athletes hang them by the bars.

After you've "racked" your bike, the next thing to do is set out the kit that you'll need in a race and in a logical way, so that you know exactly where everything is.

Personally, the way I set my own kit out is to have a towel on the floor next to my front wheel. On top of this I put my cycling shoes at the front, with my running shoes behind them. I hook my helmet onto my handlebars so it doesn't get kicked about by other competitors, although the image below is also common practice by some. If I'm wearing glasses / sunglasses for the bike leg, these will go into the helmet too. As seen in the picture above, some people hang their number belt on the handlebars too, although other athletes sometimes put their number belt on under their wetsuit, before the swim, to save a few extra seconds.

Once you've set up your main bits of kit you can start thinking about the other things to do before the race starts:

• Make sure you've got the right bottles on your bike and they're filled with whichever drink you'll be having.
• If you're carrying a spares bottle make sure it's packed and is secure on the bike (more about this later).
• Make sure you've got your nutrition on the bike, whether this is going to be gels taped to the top tube on the bike or you're using some sort of storage system.
• Your tyres should also be pumped up to the correct pressure, so it's worth taking a pump with you.
• Another thing to consider is sunscreen. Most triathlons that are Olympic distance and above will last anything between 2 and 17 hours, so if the sun's out you need to protect yourself from it. 

When you're happy with all your kit and how it's set out, go for a walk around the transition area. Look at where you come in from the swim and then walk to the "bike out" area and familiarise yourself with this and where the bike mount / dismount line is, walk to the "run out" exit, making sure that you're familiar with everything. Visualise yourself entering and leaving the transition area from the swim and into the bike leg and entering from the bike leg and where you're going to run out.

Up until a couple of years ago you were allowed to use a plastic box in transition at most races. These have now been banned by the BTF. However, you can use bags in transition, but it depends on the race and the amount of space as to whether you'll be allowed to keep these next to your bike. Some races will ask you to store them around the edge of the transition area while you're racing though.

The transition process 

First and foremost is to not try and do everything at 100mph. If you try and rush things too much it'll cost you more time and when it comes to transitions more haste definitely means less speed. That said, you shouldn't exactly stop and have a brew and a butty, which I'm sure some do, based on their times. If you do everything in a controlled manner you'll be fine.

Transition 1

Your thoughts should turn to T1 not as you get to your bike, but as soon as you're out of the swim. If it's an open water swim this should start just before you stand up to get out of the water.

Just before you stand up, pull the front of your wetsuit away from your body this will allow the wetsuit to fill with water and will mean that it will be massively easier for you to get it off. After you stand up, flip your goggles onto the top of your head and then start looking / reaching for the chord to allow you to pull the zip down. Once you've got the wetsuit unzipped, pull one arm out. Before you pull your other arm out, take your swim hat and goggles off and keep them in the hand of the arm that you're about to pull out of the wetsuit. As your arm is halfway out of the sleeve simply let go of your hat and goggles and they should stay in your sleeve. Alternatively, just leave your hat and goggles on your head until you get to your transition space. Ideally, by the time you're entering transition, you should have your wetsuit off to waist level.

The chances are that you'll feel dizzy when you get out of the swim, this is perfectly normal and no cause for concern. Just be careful if you're running to T1, or if you feel really wobbly, just walk for a bit until you've regained your composure. 

As you get to your bike pull the legs of your wetsuit down. The easiest way to do this is by stepping on the wetsuit and pulling the other leg out. Repeat this until it's off completely, then put it, neatly, at the side of your bike.

At this point I usually stand on the towel that I put my kit on so that it dries my feet slightly, making it a bit easier to then put my cycling shoes on. If you're new to triathlon then chances are that you'll have flat pedals that don't require a cycling shoe, so simply put your run trainers on instead. Next thing to go on is my helmet. DO NOT touch your bike until you've got your helmet on, otherwise a time penalty may be incurred. After that I'm pretty much ready to go, so I grab my bike and head to the "bike out" and mount line. 

Transition 2

Similarly to T1, you don't start to think about T2 once you're there. Start to think about it when you're still a few hundred metres away. Think about dismounting the bike, how you're going to do that and thinking about where your transition position is.

When you get to your transition space put your bike back on the rack, remove your helmet and then take your cycling shoes off. A quick swap to your trainers and then set off on the run. Before you head off on the run you may want to grab a quick mouthful of your drink, or grab a couple of gels to keep you going. As T2 goes, there really isn't much more to it than that. However, as with T1, more haste is less speed.

Hints and tips for time saving

Although the above gives a good idea of what you can expect during transitions, there are quite a few hints and tips that can make things easier and will save you time. Not all of what I'm about to talk about needs to be utilised by a novice triathlete but it will give you some ideas etc.

No. 1 - Talc. Whether you're going to race in socks or not, putting bit of talc in your cycling and running shoes will mean that they will slide on quicker in transitions. A top tip if you're going to put socks on for the bike and run is to wear them before the race. This will stretch them slightly and will help in getting them on. If you are going to wear socks, put a bit of talc in these too, then leave them in your cycling shoes.

No. 2 - elastic bands. Many of the experienced triathletes attach their cycling shoes to their bike with elastic bands. This is so that they can simply run with their bike to the mount line and jump straight on, putting their feet into their shoes as they ride off. This isn't something that I've ever done and, in my opinion, the time lost or gained is pretty much negligible at most levels.

No. 3 - bike mount and dismount. I don't want to spend too much time talking about this, but they're areas where time can be made up. There are many different ways to mount the bike: there's the flying mount, semi-flying mount, as well as the normal mount and scoot mount (Google these for more information). One thing that I do, do on the dismount though is to take my feet out of my shoes 100m or so before I get to the dismount line and then just rest them on top of my shoes until I'm closer to the dismount line, then I swing one leg over the bike and as I get to the dismount line I just hop off and I'm straight into the run towards my racking space, with no need to stop the bike to climb off.

No. 4 - Tri specific cycle shoes. Although any cycling shoe is perfectly fine for triathlon, wearing a tri specific cycle shoe can save time when putting them on and it also makes the dismount technique mentioned above a lot easier to achieve. With a Tri shoe they'll tend to just have either one or two wide velcro straps, instead of ratchet or buckle system like many road shoes. However, if you're doing a middle or full distance race (70.3 miles or 140.6 miles) a normal cycling shoe may be more comfortable during the race, providing more support. 

No. 5 - Elastic laces. It's surprising how long it seems to take to do something as simple as tying laces in transition. One of the best ways of getting around this is to use elastic laces. There are many different types of elastic laces and everyone will have their own favourite. When used with the talc, as mentioned above, you can save well over a minute when trying to put your run shoes on, if you use elastic laces instead of traditional tie laces.

No. 6 - spares bottle. Although this won't save you time in transition, it's a great bit of kit and can be in the form of a saddle bag, or a flat topped bottle. In mine I keep a spare inner tube, CO2 cartridges and adapter, puncture patches, tyre leavers and a couple of other bits and pieces. They can be the difference between a DNF and just losing 5 or 10 minutes.

I hope the above is of use to some and will help you as you start out on your Triathlon journey.

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

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