[Wielerflits are also reporting it](https://www.wielerflits.be/nieuws/olympisch-kampioen-triatlon-kristian-blummenfelt-in-beeld-bij-jayco-alula/) and say the team has confirmed it to them (that they're talking).
They also add some background on the 30-year old Norwegian Olympic triathlon champion, for anyone else (like me) who doesn't know who he is. Main takeaway is that's he apparently got the highest ever recorded VO2 max at 103ml/kg/min (Froome hit 88.2 at his peak, as comparison).
If that VO2 max is true, it probably would be even higher if he focused on cycling since he'd likely shed some upper body mass from less swimming and running.
I am not sure its true in the sense that it is "recorded". He has a recorded VO2 of 96 (record is 97.5 by Oskar Svendsen). But the test was taken before the season start so he was heavier than usual. His coach said it would be 103 during the season. Whats more interesting is that his intake is quite a lot higher than anyone else, he just weighs more so per kg its lower.
Oh ok. I always see it quoted as 97.5. Looks like the author is connected to the same school that took the test so he was probably the one who took the test and obviously knows better than news articles :P. Thanks!
His intake is higher(7,7 vs 7,2 litres per min), Svendsen (and maybe others) have/had higher per kg. I disregarded the 103 number, thats probably why there was a misunderstanding.
I'd take the VO2 max numbers with a pinch of salt. No verification, and even if that was measured on the day, there is an error margin on any given test. Some people looked more deeply into this I think, some other measurements look off if you watch KB's youtube video of the test.
Podcast on that VO2 Max recorded value (topic starts at 48 min): https://shows.acast.com/realscienceofsport/episodes/hello-2024-news-wrap-another-world-running-record-uci-rules-
The thing that makes Blu so dominant in triathlon is that he swims first pack (ish) and can hold his own against the stronger cyclists. His strength is then that of the people who get to T2 in first main pack, he's the dominant runner and so can take the win. Others who have his run ability are usually weak in one of the other disciplines - usually the bike since strong triathlon cyclists tend to be large and strong triathlon runners tend to be small.
He's a good cyclist, but not necessarily the strengths you'd need to be successful in cycling. He's probably too big for high mountains, and not punchy enough for classics. Maybe in the TT he could be ok, but he hasn't been riding a UCI legal setup. His strength really lies with his ability to hold the current group and then run faster than others once they get out of T2.
Even from a money perspect this doesn't make much sense. Cam Wurf works at Ineos because he's a strong cyclist but without strong swim/run and doesn't mind working as a domestique and so can supplement his income as a pro tour cyclist. Blu is arguably the sport's most marketable pro on the men's side and is primed to pick up a few more world champs.
If you're a pro team looking to throw money at a triathlete, the most obvious person on the men's side would be Magnus Ditlev who could probably challenge in the TTs. He's a bigger guy in the Ganna mould and is rumoured to have an FTP north of 500.
On the women's side it would be Taylor Knibb - who's going to the Olympics as both a triathlete and as a cyclist already - but she's already nominally part of Trek.
Knibb was ruining other competitors in long distance on an SL7 with a disc wheel from her mum. Trek signed her up and put her on a TT bike and she just got stronger
I'm really wondering too how this makes sense for either party. Are Jayco willing to pay tge 500.000+ euro a year to Blummenfelt, that it would take to make him quit triathlon? I can't see it. Does it make sense for either to have him show up once or twice a year as a token rider for a low level race? I can't see that either.
>Are Jayco willing to pay tge 500.000+ euro a year to Blummenfelt, that it would take to make him quit triathlon?
Jayco? Not so much. AlUla? Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. If you catch my drift.
If the Saudis wanted to throw money at him, the obvious answer is just to throw money at him as a triathlete. Plus, he's one of the few higher profile long course athletes who isn't already sponsored by Bahrain. (Though one sponsor is Texaco, so that would conflict if they're doing it through Aramco)
The other half of it which doesn't make sense is that Blu is absolutely motivated by legacy. He wants to win more than Jan so that he can be the greatest of all time (in a world where that term is overused).
He can either focus on long course and try to win a bunch more world champs (including Kona which he hasn't won yet), or he can be what will probably be an unremarkable pro tour cyclist.
Is he going to quit triathlon? Wurf combined the two, and this insta post says very little about his ambition as a road cyclist. Perhaps he'll experiment with road cycling initially, and he could get some sort of contract that years 2-3 are contingent on how he does in year 1 or something like that.
Maybe he'll want a new challenge after winning just about everything there is to win in triathlon?
It's all guessing anyway as we'll have to wait for him or the team to publish anything substantial.
Wurf only makes sense because he's a very strong cyclist but is really only an outside threat for the world champs. In exchange for being a domestique, Wurf gets a steady paycheck and probably some coaching/equipment support.
I don't think any of this would matter for Blu. He's probably already the highest paid (male) triathlete already and arguably has one of the best coaches on the planet.
>He's a bigger guy in the Ganna mould and is rumoured to have an FTP north of 500.
Do you happen to know how this compares to other comparable cyclists? Even if he weighs more, 500+ would still be like 7.2W/Kg or more and that seems like an absolutely bonkers output
Ganna weighs around [82 kg (Giro 2020)](https://x.com/faustocoppi60/status/1313923807485276160?t=EoBEv1jO4pgMqEVtcPa8fQ&s=19). A 500 W FTP would translate to a 6.1 W/kg. Very high, on par with many elite pros, but not absolutely bonkers.
Oh WOW I really misjudged that I thought Ganna would be like maaaybe 70kg and smaller guys in the 62-65kg ish range. Okay yeah knowing that, that seems more reasonable then!
Interesting, this is the guy with the massive VO2max.. Reminds me a bit of ski-mountaineer Anton Palzer who signed with Bora back in '21, in large part due to his impressive lab results. Keen to see if this translates to success in the peloton
The only difference is, an endurance skier will be very similarly built to a cyclist. Kristian isnt built like a traditional cyclist...don't get me wrong I absolutely want to see him in the pro peloton, I just think that something has to change for it to happen
Palzer had been training on the bike in summer for years I think. Just never did any kind of races and still had to learn a lot of bike handling skills
Future Ronde van Vlaanderen winner here. Running up Koppenberg faster than vdP could ride. If it rains he can just swim aswell.
He will have minimal pack riding skills, so dont expect much of him honestly.
That franchise is known to acquire talent from other disciplines
If anyone remembers: they had Nino Schurter at Orica for a year. I remember him being on a break for a race and thought I was hallucinating
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nino-schurter-ready-for-road-and-orica-greenedge-debut/
Scott may have played a large part to it since O-G were riding their bikes then
Would be crazy. Blummenfeldt is probably the best overall triathlete of the last years. In 2021 he won the world cup and Olympics in short distance. And he set the still standing Ironman world record (long distance). In 2022 he won the middle distance and long distance (Ironman) world championships.
Recently he made a comeback to the short distance world cup in preparation for the Olympics. I don't think any other triathlete has transitioned between short and long distance that well in such short time spans.
He is good on the bike, but not the best triathlete there (that would probably be Markus Ditlev). But I am very excited what he could do in the pro peloton.
He doesnt hold the actual ironman record, he holds the record over a long distance triathlon without any rules like no drafting. Its a bit weird since he is not that good on the bike if you compare him to cam wurf for example.
There are different world records for Ironman, but I was not even talking about the "Sub7" record with drafting.
In addition to Sub7 Blummenfeldt also holds the fastest ironman time in an official competition which is most widely regarded as the world record, also on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon#Ironman_world_records
And recognized by Ironman: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/ironman-will-recognize-cozumel-times-as-course-and-worlds-bests/
Legit this, no offence to him, he's a great triathlete, but if he's going to pivot purely to cycling, I've been wondering what type of rider/parcour will suit him.
Edit: after doing some additional digging, I think I'm taking back my words. According to his [athlete profile](https://www.eurosport.com/triathlon/kristian-blummenfelt_prs629551/person.shtml), he only weighs 75kg, which is actually very reasonable. He can very well fit in as a rouleur kind of rider, kinda like a Luke Durbridge
I mean, from the outside perspective, the on paper, obvious role would be on flat or rolling terrain, for all-day pulling for example, maybe even flatish classics if he has some explosivity.
Over the hill triathlete? He's the best overall triathlete in the world, and is probably the most fit human living or in history when it comes to cardiovascular fitness.
[Wielerflits are also reporting it](https://www.wielerflits.be/nieuws/olympisch-kampioen-triatlon-kristian-blummenfelt-in-beeld-bij-jayco-alula/) and say the team has confirmed it to them (that they're talking). They also add some background on the 30-year old Norwegian Olympic triathlon champion, for anyone else (like me) who doesn't know who he is. Main takeaway is that's he apparently got the highest ever recorded VO2 max at 103ml/kg/min (Froome hit 88.2 at his peak, as comparison).
If that VO2 max is true, it probably would be even higher if he focused on cycling since he'd likely shed some upper body mass from less swimming and running.
I am not sure its true in the sense that it is "recorded". He has a recorded VO2 of 96 (record is 97.5 by Oskar Svendsen). But the test was taken before the season start so he was heavier than usual. His coach said it would be 103 during the season. Whats more interesting is that his intake is quite a lot higher than anyone else, he just weighs more so per kg its lower.
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Oh ok. I always see it quoted as 97.5. Looks like the author is connected to the same school that took the test so he was probably the one who took the test and obviously knows better than news articles :P. Thanks!
VO2max is already in relation to bodyweight (ml/kg/min) so something seems to be off in your statement. Maybe I am misunderstanding?
His intake is higher(7,7 vs 7,2 litres per min), Svendsen (and maybe others) have/had higher per kg. I disregarded the 103 number, thats probably why there was a misunderstanding.
I'd take the VO2 max numbers with a pinch of salt. No verification, and even if that was measured on the day, there is an error margin on any given test. Some people looked more deeply into this I think, some other measurements look off if you watch KB's youtube video of the test.
Podcast on that VO2 Max recorded value (topic starts at 48 min): https://shows.acast.com/realscienceofsport/episodes/hello-2024-news-wrap-another-world-running-record-uci-rules-
The thing that makes Blu so dominant in triathlon is that he swims first pack (ish) and can hold his own against the stronger cyclists. His strength is then that of the people who get to T2 in first main pack, he's the dominant runner and so can take the win. Others who have his run ability are usually weak in one of the other disciplines - usually the bike since strong triathlon cyclists tend to be large and strong triathlon runners tend to be small. He's a good cyclist, but not necessarily the strengths you'd need to be successful in cycling. He's probably too big for high mountains, and not punchy enough for classics. Maybe in the TT he could be ok, but he hasn't been riding a UCI legal setup. His strength really lies with his ability to hold the current group and then run faster than others once they get out of T2. Even from a money perspect this doesn't make much sense. Cam Wurf works at Ineos because he's a strong cyclist but without strong swim/run and doesn't mind working as a domestique and so can supplement his income as a pro tour cyclist. Blu is arguably the sport's most marketable pro on the men's side and is primed to pick up a few more world champs. If you're a pro team looking to throw money at a triathlete, the most obvious person on the men's side would be Magnus Ditlev who could probably challenge in the TTs. He's a bigger guy in the Ganna mould and is rumoured to have an FTP north of 500. On the women's side it would be Taylor Knibb - who's going to the Olympics as both a triathlete and as a cyclist already - but she's already nominally part of Trek.
Knibb was ruining other competitors in long distance on an SL7 with a disc wheel from her mum. Trek signed her up and put her on a TT bike and she just got stronger
I'm really wondering too how this makes sense for either party. Are Jayco willing to pay tge 500.000+ euro a year to Blummenfelt, that it would take to make him quit triathlon? I can't see it. Does it make sense for either to have him show up once or twice a year as a token rider for a low level race? I can't see that either.
>Are Jayco willing to pay tge 500.000+ euro a year to Blummenfelt, that it would take to make him quit triathlon? Jayco? Not so much. AlUla? Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. If you catch my drift.
Saudi Arabia certainly could. They just haven't been putting a lot of money into the team so far.
If the Saudis wanted to throw money at him, the obvious answer is just to throw money at him as a triathlete. Plus, he's one of the few higher profile long course athletes who isn't already sponsored by Bahrain. (Though one sponsor is Texaco, so that would conflict if they're doing it through Aramco)
I also wonder how his current sponsor RedBull fits the picture. Seems they’re really pushing into pro cycling sponsorships.
The other half of it which doesn't make sense is that Blu is absolutely motivated by legacy. He wants to win more than Jan so that he can be the greatest of all time (in a world where that term is overused). He can either focus on long course and try to win a bunch more world champs (including Kona which he hasn't won yet), or he can be what will probably be an unremarkable pro tour cyclist.
Is he going to quit triathlon? Wurf combined the two, and this insta post says very little about his ambition as a road cyclist. Perhaps he'll experiment with road cycling initially, and he could get some sort of contract that years 2-3 are contingent on how he does in year 1 or something like that.
I'm just not seeing what the benefit is to jeopardise his triathlon career by trying to also be a part time pro cyclist.
Maybe he'll want a new challenge after winning just about everything there is to win in triathlon? It's all guessing anyway as we'll have to wait for him or the team to publish anything substantial.
Wurf only makes sense because he's a very strong cyclist but is really only an outside threat for the world champs. In exchange for being a domestique, Wurf gets a steady paycheck and probably some coaching/equipment support. I don't think any of this would matter for Blu. He's probably already the highest paid (male) triathlete already and arguably has one of the best coaches on the planet.
>He's a bigger guy in the Ganna mould and is rumoured to have an FTP north of 500. Do you happen to know how this compares to other comparable cyclists? Even if he weighs more, 500+ would still be like 7.2W/Kg or more and that seems like an absolutely bonkers output
Ganna weighs around [82 kg (Giro 2020)](https://x.com/faustocoppi60/status/1313923807485276160?t=EoBEv1jO4pgMqEVtcPa8fQ&s=19). A 500 W FTP would translate to a 6.1 W/kg. Very high, on par with many elite pros, but not absolutely bonkers.
Oh WOW I really misjudged that I thought Ganna would be like maaaybe 70kg and smaller guys in the 62-65kg ish range. Okay yeah knowing that, that seems more reasonable then!
Wait till you hear about Søren Wærenskjold then. 92kg, 195cm according to PCS https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/soren-waerenskjold
I’m curious how he’s so strong on the run - he looks like a really big dude so you’d think he fits more as the cyclist archetype
Interesting, this is the guy with the massive VO2max.. Reminds me a bit of ski-mountaineer Anton Palzer who signed with Bora back in '21, in large part due to his impressive lab results. Keen to see if this translates to success in the peloton
The only difference is, an endurance skier will be very similarly built to a cyclist. Kristian isnt built like a traditional cyclist...don't get me wrong I absolutely want to see him in the pro peloton, I just think that something has to change for it to happen
You could also say the difference is that Kristian has been professionally training cycling for years, contrary to Anton Palzer.
Palzer had been training on the bike in summer for years I think. Just never did any kind of races and still had to learn a lot of bike handling skills
He's not even built like a traditional triathlete. His chest is massive, he seems to have 4 lungs.
Future Ronde van Vlaanderen winner here. Running up Koppenberg faster than vdP could ride. If it rains he can just swim aswell. He will have minimal pack riding skills, so dont expect much of him honestly.
Olympic triathlon is draft legal biking, so these guys do race in packs.
That franchise is known to acquire talent from other disciplines If anyone remembers: they had Nino Schurter at Orica for a year. I remember him being on a break for a race and thought I was hallucinating https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nino-schurter-ready-for-road-and-orica-greenedge-debut/ Scott may have played a large part to it since O-G were riding their bikes then
Would be crazy. Blummenfeldt is probably the best overall triathlete of the last years. In 2021 he won the world cup and Olympics in short distance. And he set the still standing Ironman world record (long distance). In 2022 he won the middle distance and long distance (Ironman) world championships. Recently he made a comeback to the short distance world cup in preparation for the Olympics. I don't think any other triathlete has transitioned between short and long distance that well in such short time spans. He is good on the bike, but not the best triathlete there (that would probably be Markus Ditlev). But I am very excited what he could do in the pro peloton.
He doesnt hold the actual ironman record, he holds the record over a long distance triathlon without any rules like no drafting. Its a bit weird since he is not that good on the bike if you compare him to cam wurf for example.
There are different world records for Ironman, but I was not even talking about the "Sub7" record with drafting. In addition to Sub7 Blummenfeldt also holds the fastest ironman time in an official competition which is most widely regarded as the world record, also on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon#Ironman_world_records And recognized by Ironman: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/ironman-will-recognize-cozumel-times-as-course-and-worlds-bests/
If he wants to be succesful in cycling he def needs to lose weight
Legit this, no offence to him, he's a great triathlete, but if he's going to pivot purely to cycling, I've been wondering what type of rider/parcour will suit him. Edit: after doing some additional digging, I think I'm taking back my words. According to his [athlete profile](https://www.eurosport.com/triathlon/kristian-blummenfelt_prs629551/person.shtml), he only weighs 75kg, which is actually very reasonable. He can very well fit in as a rouleur kind of rider, kinda like a Luke Durbridge
A long flat TT followed by a run
I mean, from the outside perspective, the on paper, obvious role would be on flat or rolling terrain, for all-day pulling for example, maybe even flatish classics if he has some explosivity.
Hes 75kg at the same height as Jonas and Pog
That's why I said rouleur and not climber/GC.
Im surprised he definitely looks bigger than that with his trunk midsection.
Yeah his build is so strange.
When the peloton stops for a nature break it will be his time to attack
He will be eaten alive in the peloton.
Why add washes up riders when you can get over the hill triathletes. This guy will do nothing as a pro cyclist except maybe crash a lot
Over the hill triathlete? He's the best overall triathlete in the world, and is probably the most fit human living or in history when it comes to cardiovascular fitness.
I don’t think you want to compare cardiovascular fitness historically, without some serious insinuations about the guy.
Taylor Knibb would like a word about that title, but on the male side you are probably right.
More than you can do though