Your triathlon finish time, Sprint to Ironman
Five questions, your finish time and a split for each leg, then watch your race unfold to see what the bike costs your run.
Your race, start to finish
How it's calculated
- The distances are the official ones: Sprint 750 m · 20 km · 5 km and Olympic 1,500 m · 40 km · 10 km (World Triathlon), 70.3 1.9 km · 90 km · 21.1 km and full distance 3.8 km · 180 km · 42.2 km (Ironman), or about 1.2 mi · 56 mi · 13.1 mi and 2.4 mi · 112 mi · 26.2 mi. The course is assumed flat, with no wind or heat.
- The swim: your pool pace times the distance, plus 6% for open water (sighting the buoys, a mass start, a less straight line). That's the rule the coach in the Cadevia app uses, a coach's estimate. If you don't know: 2:30, 2:10, 1:52 or 1:38 per 100 m depending on how far you swim in a session (Cadevia coach estimates).
- The bike: the distance divided by your speed. If you don't know: a typical power for your level (150, 210 or 270 W, Cadevia coach estimates), of which you hold 88% in a Sprint, 83% in an Olympic, 78% in a 70.3 and 72% over the full distance (benchmarks from Allen and Coggan, “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”). That power becomes a speed through flat-road physics: P = ½·ρ·CdA·v³ + Crr·m·g·v, with ρ = 1.225 kg/m³, CdA = 0.32 m² (road bike with aero bars), Crr = 0.0045 and m = 70 kg + 9 kg of bike and gear (typical values).
- The fresh run: your 10K pace, scaled to the run distance with Peter Riegel's formula (“Athletic Records and Human Endurance”, American Scientist, 1981): time × (distance ÷ 10)1.06. If you don't know: a 58:30, 48:30 or 42:30 10K depending on your level (Cadevia coach estimates).
- Running off the bike costs 3% more than the same run on fresh legs in a Sprint, 5% in an Olympic, 8% in a 70.3 and 13% over the full distance. That's a coaching rule from the Cadevia coach, and we say so; over the full distance, walking isn't added on top.
- Normal transitions take 3, 4, 6 or 9 min in total depending on the format (a regular transition area, Cadevia coach); fast ones half that, relaxed ones double (to the nearest minute). They're split 60% for T1 (out of the water, wetsuit off) and 40% for T2, rounded to the quarter minute: that's our assumption.
- Try another speed: the power it takes follows the same flat-road physics. We assume your speed is the one you hold at your format's intensity (point 3). The title turns amber as soon as you ride faster, and red once you go past the intensity of the next shorter format (for a Sprint: what you can hold for one hour flat out). The run slowdown stays the one from point 5: no reliable published rule puts a number on the extra cost of a bike leg ridden too hard, so we don't make one up.
- The limits: it's a prediction, not a promise. Hills, wind, heat, aid stations and flat tires aren't included.
Frequently asked questions
How do I estimate my triathlon finish time?
Add up the swim (your pool pace, plus 6% in open water), T1, the bike (the distance divided by your speed), T2 and the run, calculated off the bike. The tool does it from Sprint to Ironman.
Why is running slower after the bike?
Because your legs arrive tired. The tool adds 3% to the same fresh run on a Sprint, 5% on an Olympic, 8% on a 70.3 and 13% on an Ironman: that's the rule used by the Cadevia app's coach.
What are the Sprint, Olympic, 70.3 and Ironman distances?
Sprint: 750 m swim, 20 km bike (12.4 mi), 5 km run (3.1 mi). Olympic: 1,500 m, 40 km (24.9 mi), 10 km (6.2 mi). 70.3: 1.9 km, 90 km (56 mi), 21.1 km (13.1 mi). Ironman: 3.8 km, 180 km (112 mi), 42.2 km (26.2 mi).
I don't know my bike speed. What should I do?
Choose “I don't know”: the tool starts from a typical power for your level and turns it into a flat-road speed. The result is then marked as an estimate.