The subject of transitions is an important one! Why? Because we spend countless hours training the swim, bike, and run…but how much time do we spend thinking about the in-between?

Executed well, transitions are an opportunity to make up meaningful time on the competition simply by being smarter, more strategic, and more efficient. In other words, it’s free speed – no extra watts or faster run splits required.

Here, we’ll review our top tips and tricks for mastering T1 and T2.

T1: Tips & Tricks

Let’s talk through what an ideal T1 should look like. As you near the end of the swim, firstly, you’ll want to keep swimming until your hands start hitting the bottom. (Yes, it’s faster to keep swimming than to try to wade, or quasi-run, out of waist-deep water!) Once your hands hit and swimming is no longer possible, stand up and run while simultaneously starting to unzip and pull down your wetsuit. Pop your goggles up onto your cap, but don’t take your cap or goggles off quite yet – you’ll need your hands to start pulling down that wetsuit.

As you run toward your bike, you’ll want to hold a decent clip without completely gassing yourself. While competitors are perhaps taking their time or celebrating that the swim is over, you can easily make up 30 seconds by running that little bit faster. Aim to have your wetsuit pulled down to your waist by the time you reach your bike, with your cap and goggles now in one hand so you can drop them as soon as you arrive at your spot.

Then, pull the wetsuit down your legs. A top tip for getting out of it faster is to step on the wetsuit while pulling each leg out – that counter-resistance really helps! Now is not the time to worry about whether your wetsuit is getting grassy or otherwise dirty as you step on it. You can clean it post-race. Your only goal is to slip out as quickly as possible. (And on that note, having applied a generous amount of Body Glide pre-race can also help speed things up.)

With your wetsuit off, next up is your helmet (+/- sunglasses) and, for most of us, bike shoes (+/- socks). Most age-groupers aren’t at the point where we’re ready to execute a flying mount with our shoes already attached to the bike (and this is definitely not a skill to try learning at the last minute before a race – you risk losing a lot more time if you fail to pull it off or, worse yet, crash).

Finally, grab your bike and go! Practice running quickly while pushing your bike with one hand so that on race day, you can move efficiently through transition, get yourself to the mount line, and you’re off.

T2: Tips & Tricks

T2 is a bit simpler, and usually faster.

Again, we’re probably not at the point where it’s worth risking a flying dismount…unless you’re very confident in your skills. Coming to a full stop before dismounting your bike isn’t going to cost you a huge amount of time (assuming you’re not in the pro race). And this far into the race, fatigue is likely climbing, so a safe dismount you can trust is a better bet than trying too hard to pull off something fancy.

From there, you’ll want to run quickly with your bike back to your rack spot. (Which reminds us: absolutely take note of and memorize where your bike is located before the race starts! Forgetting your spot and wandering around transition looking for it can be a huge time waster.)

Once at your spot, rack your bike first, then helmet off, bike shoes off, and running shoes on. Elastic laces are a must, as is trialing them on a practice run before race day to make sure the tightness and fit are just right. There’s no need to be tying regular shoelaces in a triathlon!

Finally, grab anything else you want to take on the run (fuel, hat, etc.) and start running. Carry these items and put them on while you’re moving rather than standing stationary in T2.

Implement these tips, and you can gain some free speed, plus look pretty cool doing it!