Setting Up Your Transition Area

By Dana Lyons, Finish Strong Coaching and SelecTRI, Triathlon Coaching for Youth

Transitions are an important part triathlon. Many triathletes spend hours training for a tri but spend little time planning their transition and practicing it. The best can breeze through transition in a minute or less! Here are some simple steps to set up an efficient transition area:

  1. Find your transition area by race number – note that there are numbers on either side of the race
  2. Rack your bike by the saddle or handlebars – the wheel that is touching the ground MUST be on your side
  3. Be sure the bike is in the gear that you want to start out with – in longer races you’ll want have a water bottles in the cages and a nutrition bar or gel pack taped to the handlebars. This may not be necessary for a short sprint tri.
  4. Pump your tires to the correct air pressure, if you haven't already.
  5. Lay down a towel next to your bike and set your cycling shoes at the bottom of the towel, closest to you, and your running shoes at the top of the towel. Open the shoes as wide as possible to make it easy to slide your feet in. Place your socks, if you'll be wearing them, on top of your cycling shoes (it is faster to go without socks but be sure to practice this before the race).
  6. Set your helmet on the handlebars of your bike, with the chin strap open and pulled to the outsides of your helmet. Place your opened sunglasses in the helmet.
  7. Place your race belt with your race number attached to it on your running shoes (it is only needed on the run).

You can also use the safety pins in your race packet to pin your race number to the front of the shirt you'll wear while riding and running.

  1. Review the swim in, bike out, bike in and run out. Walk form the swim out area to your rack space, then from the rack to the bike out noting where the mount line is. Then walk from the bike in spot (do you know where the bike dismount line is) back to your rack space. Finally, walk to the run out.

For more information on our April 17th Transition Clinic, go to

For more information pertaining to new triathletes and on CB&I pre event biking racking, go to my blog at