Need question concerning nutrion answered please!

You should probably be able to get away with eating nothing.  Just drink something on the bike, and maybe on the run if you feel you need it.  If you really think you need a few calories, make that something some sports drink.

I wouldn't drink much of anything other than a little water or sports drink on the bike.   You shouldn't need any calories to speak of for a mini sprint, or even a sprint.  One of the biggest mistakes I made on my first tri was drinking way too much on the bike thinking I was doing the right thing.  All that liquid sloshed around in my gut on the run and I felt terrible.  Now I make sure I have some fluids if workout is over an hour and I don't worry at all about calories unless its over 2 hours.  My .02.  Good luck and have fun.

Eat a light breakfast about 3 hours before the race.  Take a gel about 20 min before the race start.  You don't really need anything else for a minisprint, but take some liquid on bike in case you're thirsty.  For a regular sprint I might take another gel on the last half of the bike, but it probably isn't necessary.  

Brian 

For a sprint I eat a normal breakfast... and that's it. I will drink some water on the bike and run as needed, but not that much. At my last race I drank too much on the bike and felt sloshy on the run. Less is better.

Good luck!

If you can eat something with both simple and complex carbs 30-60 minutes before (depending on how well your digestion is - if you don't normally exercise within 30 minutes of eating then lean more towards 60 minutes) I think that will hold you for the race. If you are going to be exercising for less than 90 minutes (you said mini sprint right?) should be no problem.

Even for a sprint I would advise the same thing - but it wouldn't hurt to grab a cup of gatorade on the run of a sprint if you know that your body can handle the intake at whatever RPE you are racing at.

Good luck!!

I've had my first two events in the last month and I'm still trying to figure out the nutrition thing.  One thing I feel I am doing right is my normal breakfast, which for me is bowl of oatmeal w/ a scoop of "Tastes Like Butter", box of raisins and two little spoons of mollases.  On race morning I add a bagel or english muffin with peanut butter that seems to be a popular little bit of extra calories.  All of that seems to be fine.  

Now what has been wrong..  In my first race I thought I'd do a gel near the end of the bike leg.  It was a chocolate/coffee gel w/ a shot of caffeine.  It made me sick to my stomach and the run was ruined with a sloshing belly of gel and water.  My next race I thought I'll try another flavor, Strawberry this go round... not as bad as the first one, but still felt a little sick to my stomach on the run.  I'm to the point of thinking that I don't need to even worry about the gel honestly and my next event will be all water.  That would be my advice for your mini sprint, hydrate on the bike and run, otherwise just have a good breakfast.