After finishing 12th at the Olympic triathlon, defending champion Kristian Blummenfelt had some words for the organizers. The event was delayed by a day due to high E. coli levels in the Seine River. It was ultimately held just before the women’s race.
The Norwegian was a minute behind after the swim and attempted to shake things up in the chase group. However, the group, content to draft behind the Tokyo gold medalist, cruised through the remainder of the bike segment, setting up a 10 km road race to determine the medals.
Disappointed with result
“That is not what we have worked for. Of course, I am disappointed. I felt I got into a position where I could fight for a medal and victory, but I just didn’t quite have the running legs needed to keep up with Hayden today,” the 30-year old said an in interview with Discovery. “And I felt I had good control on the bike. I was excited about how my legs would be when I started running. But I had heavy legs.”
When the run section began, Blummenfelt struggled to keep up with the leaders. “I felt I came off the bike in a position where I could fight for the win alongside Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde, but they were just on another level on the run. I wasn’t even able to stay in the podium fight. I guess I’m just not good enough,” he said.
Organizers were amateurish
He also voiced criticisms about the organizers
“It is the same for everyone, but it is certainly amateurish on the part of the organizer,” he said. “I felt ready this morning, but that was probably not the reason. They go hard from the start. It was expected that they would go out aggressively in the first two or three kilometers to stretch out the field. So, it’s probably what Lee and Wilde regretted after Tokyo. Not running more aggressively in the first five kilometers. Since then, hey have run more aggressively.”
The next goal for Blummenfelt: The Tour de France
Recently, Blummenfelt made headlines in the cycling world when his coach announced that this would be his last year doing triathlon, with plans to transition to pro cycling next.
In an interview with Norway’s TV2, Olav Aleksander Bu said that in 2025, Blummenfelt will be “90 percent likely” to focus on cycling. Despite lacking a 2025 WorldTour contract, his coach aims for him to win the Tour de France by 2028.
“We will go with cycling because we believe there is an opportunity to make a difference there,” Bu said. “We feel that the research,…
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