Well, that’s too bad: Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt’s bold plan to win the Tour de France has fallen apart before it even began.
You may remember that just before the Paris Olympics, in an interview on Norway’s TV2, his coach Olav Aleksander Bu said that in 2025, the triathlon star would be “90 per cent likely” to focus on cycling. Although Blummenfelt doesn’t have a contract with a WorldTour team for 2025, his coach stated that the goal would be to win the Tour de France by 2028.
Easy peasy! A four-year plan to…win the Tour
“We will go with cycling because we believe there is an opportunity to make a difference there,” Bu told TV2. “We feel that the research, development, technology, and approach we have are being met with open arms by some teams, who really want and understand that you need to make a further step up there.”
Bu went on to say that, as far as goals, there was a big one. “It has to be the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, it’s that simple,” Bu said.
The commentator then asked, “Seriously?” to which the coach confirmed it was no joke.
Blummenfelt’s Tour de France ambitions would develop progressively, his coach said at the time. The original plan was to race his first Grand Tour in 2026, primarily as a learning experience. That year would serve as preparation, with the aim of winning “some jerseys” in 2027. By 2030, the goal was to take the yellow jersey and win the overall classification of the Tour de France.
This was all despite the fact that Blummenfelt hadn’t raced in pro cycling before, which made those goals particularly… ambitious. He is undeniably fast and fit, but professional road racing demands more than just physical fitness. Developing comfort in a peloton, mastering technical skills like cornering, descending, and navigating high-speed group rides can take years. Plus, pro cycling races are generally longer and feature more varied speeds than triathlons, adding another layer of complexity.
But in an interview with Velo, Bu has done an about-face on Blummenfelt’s goal to jump into pro cycling and, in a few years, win the biggest race in the world.
Bu said to Velo that Blummenfelt will stick to triathlons since they weren’t happy with his result in Paris.
“After the Paris review, we have decided to aim for Los Angeles 2028,” Bu said. “Despite the results in Paris, we are more confident after the race that going back from Ironman to the Olympics is possible. We want…
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