Aquabike competitions are usually organized within a triathlon. There are several options where the finish of the aquabike race is. The choice is up to the organizer, depending mainly on the local circumstances of the event location.
a) Finish at the triathlon finishline
In this setup you have to enter T2, hang your bike, exit T2 and run directly to the finish line without doing the whole run course.
b) Finish at T2 entry
A quite common case is, to have the entrance to T2 (=transition zone where triathletes change from bike to run) as finish line.
c) Finish at T2 exit
Some events have the aquabike-finish at the exit of T2, or shortly after. So to finish you have to enter T2, hang your bike and then run to T2 exit.
d) Finishline on the road
Another option is to have the finishline on the road, preferably a few hundred meters before T2. So you finish the aquabike competition on the bike. This is rather rare though, because it requires an additional setup and therefore comes with additional costs and effort for the organizer (see below). As of my knowledge this has only been used at international competitions (World and European Championships) so far and is probably not a really convenient setup for smaller events.
Every option has its pros and cons, for athletes as well as for organizers.
Check out our summary of all pros and cons of the different finishline locations:
Pros and cons for different finishline locations
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Finish at Triathlon Finishline | ||
| For Athletes | Proper finishline experience | You might have to run a few meters |
| For Organizers | Finisher medals can be handed out just as for triathletes | Depending on the location of the finishline it might be tricky to find a corridor for aquabikers directly to the finishline without getting in the way of triathletes who continue with the run. |
| Finish at T2 Entry | ||
| For Athletes | Not a single meter of running to the finishline | No real finishline experience You might have to find your way from transition zone to finisher´s area to get your finisher medal or get some refreshments at the finisher´s buffet. |
| For Organizers | Easy setup | To service the aquabike finishers better you might need an extra volunteer to hand out the finisher medals at T2. Aquabikers who walk through T2 after finishing their race might be in the way of triathletes who are still competing at that point. Depending on the location you might have to consider to create a corridor from T2 to finishline where finished aquabikers don´t get in the way of triathletes who are still racing. |
| Finish at T2 Exit | Pros and cons basically the same as with the finish at T2 entry. Main difference is that aquabike athletes have to run a few meters through transition which might avoids that aquabikers who immediatly stop after T2 entry are in the way of triathletes who are still racing. | |
| Finishline on the road | ||
| For Athletes | Avoids potentially dangerous sprints towards the transition zone entry. | No real finishline experience You might have to find your way from transition zone to finisher´s area to get your finisher medal or get some refreshments at the finisher´s buffet. |
| For Organizers | Avoids potentially dangerous sprints towards the transition zone entry. | Additional setup for timekeeping necessary Part of the road with the aquabike finishline should be closed to traffic to avoid dangerous situations in case of a sprint finish. Aquabikers who walk through T2 after finishing their race might be in the way of triathletes who are still competing at that point. |