Kristian Blummenfelt was almost lost to the sport of triathlon in 2024, and it all hinged on the result of one race.
As ‘Big Blu’ prepared to defend his Olympic title at Paris 2024, his coach Olav Aleksander Bu sent shockwaves through the sport by revealing that the Norwegian superstar was ’90 percent certain’ to switch to pro cycling in 2025.
Bu said his star pupil would likely be moving to the peloton with the ultimate goal of challenging for wins in the biggest test on two wheels – the Tour de France. But then, literally overnight, everything changed.
Blummenfelt’s title defence in France ended in what he and his team admitted was failure – a disappointing 12th place behind Alex Yee. That ‘Mission Impossible’ of coming back down to short-course from long-distance racing had failed.
Soon after Paris the news came through that Blummenfelt would no longer be targeting a cycling career from 2025 – he would instead be sticking with triathlon. Bu cited the financial side of the decision, saying the rewards were not there for the highest-paid triathlete on the planet.
Blummenfelt on massive pro cycling call
Blummenfelt meanwhile has revealed another contributing factor to his decision, one which just illustrates how close he came to leaving swim/bike/run at the peak of his powers.
Speaking on the Rich Roll Podcast (full episode at the bottom of this page), he admitted: “We were looking at opportunities, it didn’t help with the performances in Paris. Wanted to leave triathlon on a good performance.”
So if Blummenfelt had claimed another gold in Paris, would he have jumped ship to pro cycling?
“I think so. Only living once, you want to take the chances you can and not be afraid of taking new challenges. But then also, I wanted to finish off well in triathlon.”
One thing that does appear to be set in stone now is that the opportunity to go cycling full-time has likely gone and will not be revisited. Blummenfelt will be a triathlete for life.
“I think it was either now or never”, he confirmed.
“If I do it after L.A. I’d be 34. I thought it was a great idea.”
Could ‘Big Blu’ have starred in the pro peloton?
When Bu made that seismic announcement pre-Paris, there was much scoffing from sections of the media and fanbase. That Blummenfelt would not be able to compete at the highest level in cycling, that his body shape was wrong, that the standards set by the likes of Tadej Pogacar would be simply unreachable.
There were many reasons thrown out as to why the 30-year-old from Bergen could not be successful. But what does the man himself think?
“It’s completely different to ride in a group with triathletes to riding in the World Tour. But yeah I think the engine is my strength and being able to tolerate a high volume over not just days but weeks.
“I think it’s important to not be afraid of taking the challenge and jumping into new stuff. Often like when I’m standing on the start line for a race I’ve been preparing for, the biggest reason why they may be nervous for the race is because they are nervous to fail and I think that’s been a strength in this whole project.
“Like we jumped into triathlon and said 10 years before that, yeah we will win the race in Tokyo in 2020, and that’s been the target or the whole thing we’d been working towards, even though back then it was quite an ambition, goal to set.
“The same is now, you want to keep that youthful in you, you want to be able to have a goal that is almost unreachable.”
The pain of Kona cuts deep
Right now Blummenfelt is still dealing with the fallout from another big moment in his career, that miserable day in Kona when he came home 35th in the IRONMAN World Championship, having vomited repeatedly on the bike leg and then being ‘cooked’ as he put it on the run. It’s a feeling which will fuel him for 2025 and beyond.
“My slogan on my bike is ‘it hurts more to lose’. It’s like when I’ve won a race, it’s great but I want to win another one. But if I lose a race, like now in Kona, it stays on my mind for so much more.
“It’s so much worse than the joy I would have had for winning that race.”
