Kristian Blummenfelt is dreaming of a Norwegian one-two-three this weekend as he bids for a second IRONMAN World Championship title alongside training partners Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes.
The trio famously dominated the winners’ podium back in 2018 at the World Triathlon Series in Bermuda, and Tokyo Olympic Triathlon champion Blummenfelt believes there is every chance they can do it again as they line up for Sunday’s showdown in Nice.
With three IRONMAN Pro Series wins under his belt already this season, Blummenfelt rightly stands among the hot favourites to once again take the crown that he first won at St George in 2021 – and if his good friends and colleagues can join him, then all the better.
Preparations for the big race have already seen them tackle five weeks of altitude training, while their more recent work on familiarising themselves with the course follows on from an earlier winter session out on the rugged terrain of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Peaking at the right time
As well as Blummenfelt’s form, Iden and Stornes have also shown positive signs of peaking at just the right time as they look to mount a championship challenge. Indeed, when Blummenfelt crossed the line first at IRONMAN Frankfurt in June, Stornes finished third and Iden fourth.
Speaking to Bob Babbitt on his ‘Breakfast With Bob’ podcast – which is embedded in this article below – Blummenfelt revealed how the athletes had already spent a great deal of time working together in preparation for the big race.
“It’s important that the group is performing well for the dynamic and the mood and sort of the self-belief in all of us,” he says. “To see them both being so strong in Frankfurt was really, really promising and even better to know that both of those guys are even fitter now going into this weekend. And it’s maybe a course that is suiting both of them even better.
“That has been the biggest change this year. The three of us are back training together and just giving a bit more time to focus on the training. It definitely helped to have Casper back training in the group and also that Gustav is back in shape, because even though he was in the group for the last three years, he was sort of out of shape for two of them, due to his injuries.
“A clean sweep would be extremely cool. Like, it’s hard to compare it to Bermuda, because then it was sort of a shock. But to do it in an IRONMAN World Championship? Everyone knows that all of us can get on the podium, but to make it happen is extremely difficult… it will be a dream come true.”
Focusing on the win
The training has not only helped them to develop their skills and understand the tricky contours of the CĂ´te d’Azur course, but it also gives all three competitors an idea of where they are in terms of their physical preparations. They all want one another to do well… but at the end of the day, they are also there to win for themselves.
Blummenfelt is the first to admit that wins in Texas, Frankfurt, and the 70.3 in Aix-en-Provence count for nothing when it comes to racing for the biggest title of them all. Last year, he arrived in Kona having secured the win in Frankfurt ahead of eighth-placed Patrick Lange. But it was the German who then went on to win the prized World Championship for a third time.
So keen is he not to rest on his laurels, Blummenfelt has set himself the triple challenge of first winning the IRONMAN World Championships, then securing the 70.3 equivalent in Marbella, which would guarantee him the Pro Series crown too.
“The thing with IRONMAN is that you can race extremely well until the World Championship, but if you don’t win the World Championship, while it’s not a wasted… it is all about this one single race,” he said. “It’s like the guy who won last year at Kona, Patrick, he is the King of 2024, you know, in IRONMAN. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing until that point. It doesn’t matter that I took him in Frankfurt last year.
“It’s all about this race and then pushing on after that. I want to win the World Championship in Marbella, and after that, I have a third one on the list, which is the Pro-Series. I’m feeling good, feeling sharp and ready to go.
“All three of us, even though we train together and we hope and wish for the best for the two others, we always want to stand on top of the podium ourselves. We are all winners. I think this is a more challenging course, but I think it can suit me if I’m in great shape. I think it’s a course that’s suiting whoever is in great shape because the better you are, the more damage you can do on the field.”
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