Yesterday I started a small situation in transition when the person next to me set up under their rear wheel (up) and not their front wheel (down). The USAT rule is below. Not sure why you’d set up this way because that means you have to pull your entire bike under the rack during T1. My bike was at the end of the rack, so I needed her to move, so I could set up. When I asked nicely she refused saying she prefers this spot. So I had to get a referee involved. They read her the rule, so she moved. I didn’t want to create stress for people, but with my bike at the end of the rack, I had no room other than at my rear wheel (up).
I was talking with others and nobody was aware that it was an actual rule to set up at the down wheel. They all thought it was personal preference. The referee also brought up that all our bikes are facing the wrong way, but it’s not a big deal. We are at the mercy of the first athlete to rack their back. If they rack it wrong, we all rack ours wrong. See the first sentence of 2nd paragraph below. Our number was facing the up wheel (rear wheel).
Just thought I’d share the story from yesterday.
7.2** Placement of Equipment. **All participants shall place equipment only in the properly designated and individually assigned bicycle corral and shall at all time keep their equipment confined to such properly designated areas. All equipment already used must be returned to properly designated area. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty.
In the case of an individual assigned bicycle corral, the bike must be racked on the same side, with the wheel down (either wheel) and facing out from the direction of the individually assigned number. Participants may rack their bicycle by either the seat, handlebars or both brake hoods and equipment to be used in competition must be placed next to their downed wheel, or placed in the properly designated area provided by event management (such as an individually specified transition area box or bin). Bike equipment, shoes, glasses, and helmet may be placed on the bike. Racking preference may be specified in the event specific materials.
Not sure what you meant what she did - do you mean she racked her bike on one side and then set up her transition made on the OTHER side of the rack?
In the last Norcal race I did , they were been enforcing the rear-wheel-up rule and making people get compact with their transition stuff, two people around me had to both fix their bikes and make their stuff more compact on the ground.
Ok, that’s obviously wrong, in that she’s then taking up two separate slots (front and back.)
I’ve literally never seen that before in a race, but I tend to do Northern CA races where race racks get full every time, and for sure an official would come by sooner rather than later and tell her to readjust. (They even come by checking bar-end plugs on road bikes here regularly.)
This same situation happened to me yesterday at Timberman 70.3. It was clear the individuals around me didn’t have a lot of experience racing triathlon and I had to explain “proper etiquette”, not actually being aware of whether there was a rule. I went around transition trying to find a ref or Ironman rep to confirm my position, but quickly realized I wasn’t going to find anyone in a reasonable amount of time. Returned to transition and convinced four other people around me to switch what they were doing so we were all consistent - your front wheel down and equipment to the right of your front, and also under the other person’s rear. A couple other people chimed in which helped speed shit along, but was a little annoying.
They aren’t doing themselves any favors with how convoluted the writing on that rule is. I don’t usually race in the US, so we typically use the world tri rule, which is technically that bikes must be racked by the rear wheel/seat in T1, and then either front or rear wheel (individual racks) or either seat, handlebars or both brake hoods for shared racks. In terms of your gear, it’s can be on either side of your bike, but within 50cm of the number for your slot (or centre of the slot). I tend to set up my stuff a little further back than my front wheel, so that it’s not in the way for others in T2, if the rack is empty, so I tend to set up my shoes around my bottom bracket area. There can of course be exceptions made (generally granted for really tall people, where their seat is too high to be able to fit under the A frame rack, in which case they could rack by their bars), but the reason why it should always be bars out in T1 is to prevent someone backing out, and then, while standing in the middle of the aisle, having to flip their bike around and blocking the flow area. I have seen a ton of collisions in transitions because of people racking the opposite way… (it doesn’t matter in T2, since the bike is done).
Other than being impractical, people having their stuff by their rear wheel is only really problematic if they have stuff piled high, which could prevent someone on the opposite side of the rack from properly racking their bike. Given that many triathletes are inherently messy with their transition spots (which makes no sense, since clean is fast…), I generally prefer that people err with placing their stuff a bit further back, so that they aren’t spilling over into the aisle (which is often the case with some of the transition spots that are set up in a manner that I could only describe as “erupting volcano”).
I also wished that more age group races would move to the transition bin system like they do with the elites, it’s a great way to keep the zone clean, and to provide the visual cues to people to keep their stuff in their designated spot.
In my experience a race cannot have enough pictures in the transition area/ race materials about proper transition set up. Many people do not know the rules and it’s much easier to get it correct if you have a visual aid. I also like when they have a lot of referees wandering around correcting people.
I see that in almost every race I do. It’s incredibly frustrating. People do not understand you aren’t allowed to set up a picnic area for your transition.
If I see a referee walking around I watch to see if they correct it and I honestly have yet to really see them do it.
What’s the point though, at my most recent triathlon, you had people riding their bikes out of transition and headphones on the bike and run…
That sounds pretty brutal. Again, outside the US, but as an official myself, our default pre-race role is wandering around transition and helping people understand the rules and correct potential problems. Not everybody takes to it kindly, which is possibly why in some places, they may have given up on that practice, but generally it’s easier to correct it while people are setting up before heart rates get elevated, than during the race, or having the officials fix things while people are in the swim… Generally we take more of an educational stance, and explain why the rules are there, and how following them actually helps the athlete, and eliminates confusion and conflicts, but again, some people seem one coffee shy of human on race morning, and confrontational is their default state…
I see that in almost every race I do. It’s incredibly frustrating. People do not understand you aren’t allowed to set up a picnic area for your transition.
If I see a referee walking around I watch to see if they correct it and I honestly have yet to really see them do it.
What’s the point though, at my most recent triathlon, you had people riding their bikes out of transition and headphones on the bike and run…
Agreed. I don’t think anyone really even reads the rules, just copies what they have seen before or what they think is okay. There is definitely a group of athletes who show up early and act like they are the first people at the pool on vacation in the morning and will try to occupy as much space as possible.
Athlete guides and pre-race sessions should include pictures of how to set up and highlight that these are rules, not guidelines.
Why do people always have an issue with how I set up my transition? I use my smallest bench and confine myself to the size of my spread out beach towel. I typically only have my 40 gallon cooler there, and I use my smallest shoe rack to hold my shoes. I even have reduced my balloon usage to just a small cluster of 5 right at the rack, and I use chalk to draw arrows on the ground instead of my old goto option of marker paint. I attach my sun sail to the bike rack, since I don’t rack my bike there. I have a kickstand on my bike so it’s unnecessary.
Why do people always have an issue with how I set up my transition? I use my smallest bench and confine myself to the size of my spread out beach towel. I typically only have my 40 gallon cooler there, and I use my smallest shoe rack to hold my shoes. I even have reduced my balloon usage to just a small cluster of 5 right at the rack, and I use chalk to draw arrows on the ground instead of my old goto option of marker paint. I attach my sun sail to the bike rack, since I don’t rack my bike there. I have a kickstand on my bike so it’s unnecessary.
I also have a separate coolers for my ice, one for cubed ice and one for crushed ice. When the race is over I break out the blender and start serving drinks.
I also have a separate coolers for my ice, one for cubed ice and one for crushed ice. When the race is over I break out the blender and start serving drinks.
Ironman Steelhead 2015 I entered T1 to find a guy laying out in front of my bike eating a food bar. Like what happened during that short swim you need to relax and eat? He moved quickly, but damn. It’s T1.
Don’t have a spectating friend set up a reclining beach chair with large cooler IN the transition area for HIM to sit and take in the T1 and T2 action.
I wish I was joking (Indianapolis race in 2001). When he started setting that stuff up, I said, “Dude, you can’t do that and you can’t even be in here!” Response, “Why not, it looks like there’s plenty of room?” My palm to my face after that.
