Kristian Blummenfelt WILL NOT bid for Tour de France cycling glory, triathlon legends Mark Allen and Macca respond to his BIG decision
It was triathlonâs biggest off-course story of an epic swim/bike/run summer â Kristian Blummenfelt apparently heading to pro cycling in 2025 with Tour de France glory the ultimate aim.
The Norwegian great hit the headlines just ahead of his failed Paris 2024 Olympics title defence when coach Olav Aleksander Bu told media he was â90 percent certainâ to be in pro cycling from 2025.
Bu said that the ultimate aim for Blummenfelt and the âNorwegian methodâ was to compete for wins in cyclingâs most iconic race, the loftiest of ambitions.
Then, a few weeks after Paris came the news that Blu had done a U-turn on that plan, with Bu admitting the big reason was the money on offer. Remember that Blummenfelt is already reportedly the highest-paid triathlete in the world.
So has Blummenfelt made the right move? Would he have thrived in pro cycling? We asked triathlon legends Mark Allen and Chris McCormack for their take on the path he has now chosen.
Mark Allen on Blummenfelt decision
Allen, six-time IRONMAN World Champion, believes Blummenfelt made the right call, both for the sport of triathlon and crucially for himself.
He told TRI247: âIf he stays in triathlon I think thatâs a real good move. One, heâs exciting to watch race, you never what youâre gonna get out of the guy. Heâs shown that heâs vulnerable, heâs shown that heâs invincible â you get the full monty with him.
âI think had he gone to cycling, and I hope he doesnât take it the wrong way, that would have been a big risk â like he may just have flailed. That would have been disappointing for him and a loss for us that maybe he exited for two or three years and never floated to the top in that sport.â
Allen also fears that Blummenfelt may not have had the pure talent and tools to excel in the pro peloton, reasoning: âIâm not sure what the intrigue was for him to go cycling. You know weâve had a lot of cyclists come into our sport and itâs fun to see that happen. Cam Wurf went the other direction and he got into cycling and he excelled. Just looking at Kristianâs body type and stuff, I donât know.
âYou know what, itâs not like how we saw Taylor Knibb just absolutely dominate the women on the bike in triathlon. He didnât exhibit that same dominance that I saw anyway. So if I was a cycling team Iâd be like âwhy do you think youâre as good or better than every cyclist on the team?’â
Macca on Kristianâs triathlon choice
McCormack meanwhile, two-time IRONMAN World Champion, has a very similar take on Blummenfeltâs choice, telling us: âI think itâs great for triathlon. I think Kristianâs one of the biggest names in the sport. He brings a lot of personality and a lot of attention to the sport.
âThe Norwegians are dominating endurance sports across the barrel. Itâs definitely a golden era of Norwegian endurance racing and Kristian spearheads that along with Jakob Ingebrigtsen and others. So itâs great to have him in triathlon and stay there.â
Macca also agrees with Allen on what the chances of cycling success might have been for âBig Bluâ, believing things could have got âuglyâ had he gone through with the much-hyped sport switch.
âItâs one thing to say youâre going across to cycling and youâre going to win the Tour de France. Itâs another thing to actually do that, and I think it wouldâve been a big eye-opener for him. Iâm sure he is aware of that, and I just think itâs better he stays where he is because it wouldâve been quite ugly for him in that pro peloton.â
Whatâs next for Blummenfelt?
Now of course we wait to see what Blummenfelt will do for the next Olympics cycle, with Bu admitting that a tilt at the L.A. 2028 is now a possibility.
The 30-year-old superstar from Bergen would likely categorise his 2024 campaign as a failure, with the biggest goal being the defence of that Olympic title won in Tokyo. He would finish only 12th behind Alex Yee in the Paris spectacular.
Blummenfeltâs other target was the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, and he was 35th there after seeing his hopes severely impacted by projectile vomiting during the bike leg.
