Stories of athletes from other sports coming into cycling and thriving are no longer rare nowadays. Others, such as Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel, discovered their talent in cycling whilst being promising athletes in others such as Ski Jumping and Football. More and more cycling scouts are putting their focus on triathletes and Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt is looking to make the switch and aim for Tour de France glory.
This is in fact a story that would now not be unheard of in the sport. Richie Porte is a prime example of a triathlete turned star cyclist for INEOS Grenadiers whilst the British team still has a contract with professional triathlete Cameron Wurf. Movistar's Javier Romo also made the switch to cycling full time only a few years ago and has been impressing at World Tour level, recently finishing 12th at the Criterium du Dauphiné and 23rd at the Tour de France.
In words to TV2 Norway, Blummenfelt's coach Olav Aleksander Bu said that "let's say that it is 90 percent likely that we will go cycling next year. The reason I say 90 is that we haven't signed a contract yet. There are still a few small things that must be cleared, of course, but there are no reefs in the sea or anything. It probably means that we go for cycling".
Blummenfelt could be heading to Team Jayco AlUla, this was reported by the Triathlon Hour in early June, who argued that a three-year contract was on the table and that he was to move to Andorra where many pro riders currently live.
According to Bu the change is eyeing a lot of success in the sport, believing in the 30-year old's potential: "We don't go cycling to retire. We go cycling to make a difference. 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," he shares. "Not only with Kristian specifically, but also with the team. In 2026, we aim to sit 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 then we will really test it in 2027, and then the goal of going all-in in 2028
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