“Kristian Blummenfelt is not to be messed with”: Tour de France stage winner backs 2020 Olympic triathlon champion’s plan to win Tour by 2028 and says he’ll “immediately claim his place” in peloton

The news this week that triathlete and former Ironman and Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt is planning to ditch the running shoes and swimming cap for a stint in the professional peloton, at the age of 30, has certainly raised some eyebrows within the cycling community – especially after the Norwegian’s team claimed he could be competing for Tour de France stage wins in two years, and even winning the sport’s biggest race by 2028.

But Blummenfelt’s rather lofty ambitions have received support from a stage winner at this year’s Tour, as former hour record holder Victor Campenaerts told the Belgian press that the Olympic champion from Tokyo is “unmatched” mentally and “means business” when it comes to succeeding in professional cycling.

That unmatched mentality, Campenaerts says, extends to Blummenfelt’s choice of team for 2025, with the Lotto-Dstny rider claiming that the Norwegian turned down an initial approach from a leading squad because the management allowed their riders to enjoy a rest and a “few beers” after the Tour de France.

Yesterday, we reported that Blummenfelt recorded the highest absolute VO2 max (as opposed to relative VO2 max, which factors in weight) in history while training for the triathlon at the Paris Olympics, in which Blummenfelt finished 12th today. 

His coach says he is “90 per cent” likely to turn pro as a cyclist in 2025, amid reports linking him to Australian WorldTour team Jayco-AlUla.

> Triathlon star with highest ever recorded VO2 max Kristian Blummenfelt reveals ambitious plan to win the Tour de France by 2028

“Let’s say that it is 90 per cent likely that we will go cycling next year,” the 30-year-old’s coach Olav Aleksander Bu told Norwegian TV.

“The reason I say 90 is that we haven’t signed a contract yet. There are still a few small things that need to be cleared, of course, but there are no reefs in the sea or anything. It probably means that we go for cycling.”

 

 

 

 

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“We don’t go cycling to retire. We go cycling to make a difference,” he added. “There must be a yellow jersey in the Tour de France, it’s as simple as that.

“We probably need a few years. The first year will probably not be the Tour de France. 2025 will probably be more of a year of mapping, where we have to find out where we have to work. Not only with Kristian specifically, but also with the team.

“In 2026, we aim to race in the Tour de France. In 2027 we must be in a position to take some jerseys. If we are not in a position to take some stage victories or be among the very top in the overall, it is difficult to think that we will do something magical until 2028. So we think that we will really test it in 2027, and then have the goal of going all-in in 2028.”

Bu’s prediction that Blummenfelt could switch sports and win the Tour in 2028 at the age of 34 (to put that into perspective, only two 34-year-olds – Gino Bartali and Cadel Evans – have won the Tour since the Second World War) has attracted some ridicule on social media, but Lotto-Dstny rider Campenaerts sees no reason why the Norwegian can’t succeed at the highest level in the peloton.

(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Speaking to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad Campenaerts, who won stage 18 of this year’s Tour de France from the breakaway into Barcelonnette, said: “Mentally, he is unmatched. If you think I am a professional idiot, I can guarantee everyone that I will not even reach his back wheel.

“After his Olympic title in Tokyo I sent a message to congratulate Kristian and asked them if he was going to rest now. He had taken one day to visit the Olympic village, one day to return home, and then he started training for the next goal.”

> “Does he know he has to turn on a road bike?” Cycling fans react to Olympic triathlon champion Kristian Blummenfelt’s Tour de France ambitions… and they’re sceptical to say the least

On the subject that has most vexed some online pundits, along with former and current pros such as Evans and fellow Norwegian Tobias Foss – in short, Blummenfelt’s ability to handle his bike and adapt to the hustle and bustle of a tense, nervy bunch – Campenaerts says that the Norwegian’s team have taken their rider’s lack of experience into account when planning the next few years.

“I asked his coach if he realised that it would not be easy for him to ride in a professional peloton. They realised that, he said, because they are not stupid,” the Belgian breakaway specialist and Giro stage winner said.

“He describes 2025 as the year in which they will seek out the limits – to ride through a corner as fast as possible until Kristian falls, for example. To go through the corner at the same speed next time without falling. His first race will also be crucial.

“Kristian will immediately claim his place, so that everyone understands that Blummenfelt is not to be messed with. He means business. His plan is too concrete not to be true.”

> Finish Paris-Roubaix, run half-marathon, have dinner: A day in the life of Ineos pro and Ironman Cameron Wurf

Responding to the rumours that Blummenfelt is set to join Jayco-AlUla in 2025, Campenaerts also claimed that the unofficial Ironman record holder had been in talks with another WorldTour outfit, which broke down over concerns about the team’s professionalism.

“When they heard that the management of that team thought that riders also had a right to a week’s rest and a few beers after a Tour de France, for example, they dropped out,” Campenaerts said.

“They didn’t think that was the right team. In other words: whichever team it is, they will have to want to go along with the story completely.”