WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS – GOLD COAST SEPTEMBER 2009
I had the privilege of spending a week up at the World Triathlon Champs held in sunny Gold Coast during the month of September.  Unfortunately not a lot of time was spent in the sun as I was busy at work servicing the New Zealand High Performance team athletes and the Age Group competitors who were participating in the various races.  It was great to be amongst the action and especially spending time with some of our greatest triathletes in New Zealand and watching them put all they had into one of their biggest races of the year.  Also to see the top triathletes from around the world compete.  However, one of the best highlights was meeting Emma Snowsill and getting my  photo taken with her which will no doubt feature in the workshop.



While I worked on many bikes from age group competitors’, para-triathletes, elites, first timers at world champs or experienced competitors, it amazed me that at such a world class event, maybe for some a once in a life time experience, the lack of preparation people put in to their bikes.  The condition some of the bikes were in, you wonder how they manage to ride well enough to compete at this level.  So I thought I would share with you some tips on pre race preparation and travelling with your bike to make sure you don’t encounter some of the unfortunate incidents that can happen:



Clean Your Bike:

• This includes frame, fork, wheels
• Drive system, chain and gears: A clean drive system helps to improve shifting, reduce drive chain drag
• New Tyres and Tubes

• Remove all lights and unnecessary extra’s that add weight to your bike

Packing a Bike

• You may have to assemble your bike at your destination, so you may want to spend some time with your mechanic or practice assembling parts of your bike so you are more confident when it comes time to unpack.
• Wrap your bike in foam to protect it from damage. 
• Fit spacers to forks and rear dropouts to reduce frame breakage.
• Don’t pack your helmet in your bike box. 
• Put all the small parts into a bag and pack with your bike.
• Mark handle bars and seat post placement with tape before removing.