Rob Dallimore writes: My favourite part of a triathlon (except for the finish) is the last kilometer on the bike, through T2 and the first kilometer on the run. I find it a real buzz coming to this point. The crowd is there, everything is happening, there may be other people in transition too and it can be a real confidence boost passing people through here. I always feel the anticipation building as I reach bike the dismount line, take my feet out of my shoes and step of my bike, hitting the ground at speed and keeping a swift flow into transition. Then getting prepared for the run, going through the T2 routine and hitting the run seamlessly.

I have always found my transitions to be one of my stronger disciplines. I know some of you may be rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter having a go at me for that comment. But think about it, when else is there a point in the race where your competitors are not moving forward. This is the perfect opportunity to catch up to or put time on your competition, and how good does it feel to see someone still fluffing around with their shoes as you fly past out on to the run. You only need to be 5 metres ahead to have a psychological advantage over someone - you can just build on it from there.

I often think back to Ironman 2004, sure the finish was something that I will never forget and I would like to relive my debut every year. But one of my proudest moments from that day was having the 3rd fastest T2 on the day, even faster than the pros (except for Karen Holloway and some dude from Venezuela I think). But my quick transition was made possible by the practice of going through the routine in my head as I turned off spa road for the last time - a super helpful guy who followed my orders as I barked them to him was very useful too.

I remember turning the last right hander towards the dismount line and being in a low gear to keep my legs spinning, loosening the strap on my shoes and riding the last 50 metres with my feet on top of the shoes. Having never competed in Ironman before, I didn't know what I was going to feel but I wanted to keep moving and not cramp up. I kept my speed up to the line and lifted my right leg over my seat. Like a parachutist coming into land I just kept running at the same pace, handed my bike to the attendant (noticing he didn't touch the seat) and headed for the transition bags. Because my number was 290 I was right next to the pros line and I didn't have to veer off, just grabbed my bag and headed straight to the tent. On my way I opened the bag up, threw it to a guy (I'll call him Andy for now) and ran for the last seat before the exit. By this time Andy had tipped the bag up and its contents were on the ground. As I put my socks on I asked Andy to put sun block on my shoulders, and put my hat on. I stood up and put my fuel belt on as I ran out (after thanking Andy for his help). I considered a toilet stop but really wanted to hit the road, so I went later. The whole T2 process took 56 seconds and I can clearly remember seeing a whole bunch of people getting ready for the run, but no one left before me. In the end, if it had taken me 2 minutes it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference, but there is not greater confidence builder than having a swift transition and passing people in the process.

Obviously things aren't quite the same in other races, but the same principles of transition still apply. I always go through the same routine every time and always find myself anticipating that stage in a race.

The importance of T2 flow was no more evident than during the Worlds in Queenstown. There were a few incidents that had a big effect on the race day outcomes. Firstly, in the Elite Women's race Michelle Jones lost control of her bike as she was running to the rack, she almost fell right over and lost quite a few places in the process, she ended up missing the break out on to the run and had to work very hard to get it back, and consequently didn't win. In the Elite men's race Peter Robertson carried his bike through, and this enabled him to put some distance on Oliver Marceau, he went on to win (I have tried this tactic since and have also found it to be very effective). A few minutes later the main pack (over 40 athletes) came through and the first person on the run was our own World champ, Bevan Docherty. His transition was lightening fast and put him into a position to take 4th that day.

So even though the transition is a fairly short aspect of the race it can have a major influence on the outcome of a race. And it should be considered during training and practiced on a regular basis to perfect technique.