Getting into triathlon: the complete guide to nailing your first race

Swim, bike and run, in one single race: welcome to the wonderful world of triathlon. Since the Paris 2024 Games and the performances of Cassandre Beaugrand and Léo Bergère, the sport has never been so inspiring — and never recruited so many beginners.

Training: the heart of it

The beginner's first reflex: believing you must train twice a day. Wrong. Most French triathletes train between 6 and 9 hours a week, and fewer than 5% exceed 15 hours. What matters isn't raw volume — it's how you split it.

Second principle: 80% endurance, 20% intensity. Endurance builds the engine and prevents injury; intensity, more costly, is used sparingly. A beginner who always runs "on feel," too fast, gets injured or plateaus.

Finally, you progress discipline by discipline, each with its own logic:

• Swimming: it's 70% technique. Two sessions a week, one focused on the stroke — it's the bottleneck for 9 amateurs out of 10. I wrote a full guide: finally improving in swimming.
• Cycling: start on a home-trainer to build volume risk-free, before heading out on the road.
• Running: short distances first, raising volume gradually (+10%/week max) to let tendons adapt.

Each profile needs a different load and progression: if you want a personalized triathlon training plan, that's exactly what I build with my athletes, around their real schedule.

Which distance to start with?

No shame in going short: 62% of French practitioners race short distances (XS to M), versus 38% long. Starting with an S or M format isn't taking it easy — it's the norm, and the best way to finish smiling rather than suffering.

Race day, step by step

A triathlon is won as much in your head and your organization as in your legs. Let's walk through it in order.

• The swim. The pool → open-water switch is the most unsettling: cold water, no lane line, other swimmers. Train in open water and in your wetsuit before race day. On the start line, position yourself to the side or slightly back to avoid the "washing machine."
• The transitions (T1 & T2). It's triathlon's 4th sport — and the freest gain there is. A well-organized transition area and rehearsed changeovers can save you several minutes without a single extra physical session.
• The bike. This is where you eat and drink to prepare for the run. Stay within a controlled effort: going too hard on the bike wrecks your run.
• The run. The first strides off the bike feel strange, legs like cotton. It's normal, it passes in a few minutes. Mind the drafting and disqualification rules, which vary by race.

Many neglect the transitions. Yet it's time gained for free: you don't need to be stronger, just organized.

— Fred Belaubre, SAFE PACE episode

Gear: invest smart

Triathlon has a reputation as an expensive sport. The reality is more nuanced: most practitioners spend between €400 and €1000 a year, 21% over €1000, and only 6% cross €2000. You can absolutely start without going broke.

• Invest by priority. In swimming, a wetsuit changes everything; on the bike, reliability beats high-end aero; for the run, good shoes are enough.
• Second-hand is an excellent option for a first bike, as is the rental offered by more and more races.
• Prep your gear the night before, with a checklist, so you forget nothing in the transition area.

One topic comes up more and more: heat, since many Ironmans are raced in summer. It can be prepared for — gradual acclimatization, hydration, pacing — just like everything else.

Nutrition: the beginner's mistake

Charlotte Morel is categorical: the classic beginner mistake is not fueling, thinking it only matters over long distances. Wrong. Even on a short, intense format, drinking and eating a little, regularly, changes how your race ends.

The real danger of poor nutrition is the empty tank — the dreaded "bonk" — or the digestive issues that ruin months of preparation. The rule: test your nutrition strategy in training, never on race day.