Kristian Blummenfelt’s potential switch to pro cycling looks to have been put on hold, with the Norwegian great instead likely to try and reclaim his Olympic Games triathlon title at Los Angeles 2028.
Blummenfelt beat Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde to gold at Tokyo 2021, but could only finish 12th as that pair took first and second at this year’s Olympics in Paris.
Between the two Games, the 30-year-old superstar from Bergen won pretty much every middle and long-distance race that mattered – and next month he will look to add a second IRONMAN World Championship to his CV when he lines up in Kona.
What was said before the Olympics?
Excelling at longer distances is something he’s continued to take in his stride – astonishingly just 13 days after Paris he dominated a super-strong field to win IRONMAN Frankfurt and then this last weekend it was like old times as he and Gustav Iden made it a Norwegian one-two at Chellenge Samarkand.
Blummenfelt’s much-respected and ground-breaking coach Olav Aleksander Bu had suggested just before the Olympics in July that he was ’90 percent certain’ ‘Big Blu’ would switch to cycling in 2025, with the sport’s biggest race, the Tour de France the ultimate aim.
Speaking to Norwegian outlet TV 2, Bu said: “Let’s say that it is 90 percent likely that we will go cycling next year. The reason I say 90 is that we haven’t signed a contract yet. There are still a few small things that must be cleared.
“We probably need a few years. The first year will probably not be the Tour de France. 2025 will probably be more of a year of mapping, where we have to find out where we have to work. Not only with Kristian specifically, but also with the team.”
Change of plan after Paris review?
But it appears that ambitious tilt has now been shelved in favour of another Olympic tilt.
For on Wednesday, Bu was quoted by cycling publication Velo as saying: “After the Paris review we have decided to aim for Los Angeles 2028.
“Despite the results in Paris, we are more confident after the race that going back from Ironman to Olympics is possible. We want to give it one last shot.”
Cycling’s loss would be triathlon’s gain – Blummenfelt will still only be 34 when the Games take place in LA, while there’s every reason to think that Yee and Wilde’s absorbing rivalry will continue through to then too. That pair will both be 30 at that point.
TRI247 has approached both Olav and Kristian for comment.
Are we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
