Norwegian triathlon heavyweight Kristian Blummenfelt made headlines this week when the former Ironman champ and 2020 Olympic gold medal winner revealed his ambitious plan to win the Tour de France by 2028. Blummenfelt reportedly tested for the highest absolute VO2 max (as opposed to relative VO2 max, which factors in weight), ever recorded in history and is said to be joining UCI WorldTeam Jayco-AlUla to get his two-wheeled career underway.
He had the small matter of defending his Olympic crown yesterday, a task that did not go to plan, Great Britain's Alex Yee pulling off a stunning comeback victory as Blummenfelt finished a disappointing 12th. Afterwards, the soon-to-be pro cyclist was not happy and had a pop at the "amateurish" organisation of the event which was delayed by a day due to concerns about pollution levels in the River Seine.
He told the Discovery TV cameras: "That is not what we have worked for, I'm of course 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 I needed to keep up. I felt I had good control on the bike, and was excited about how my legs would be when I started running, but it was heavy.
"It is the same for everyone, but it is of course amateurish on the part of the organiser..."
We should point out he didn't claim the "amateurish" organising stopped him winning a medal and he was quick to praise GB's Yee and silver medal winner Hayden Wilde for their "aggressive" run.
"I felt ready this morning, that was probably not why," he said. "They go hard from the start. It was certainly expected that they go out quite aggressively in the first two or three kilometres to stretch out the field. It is probably what Alex and Hayden regretted after Tokyo, that they did not run more aggressively."
The "amateurish" aspect of the organisation was how the decision to postpone the races, initially scheduled for Tuesday but delayed until Wednesday due to the level of E. coli bacteria in the Seine where the swimming leg took place, was made and communicated to athletes (who have presumably spent months preparing to peak perfectly for one day). Early yesterday morning the organisers said they'd been given the green light and the races went ahead a day late, no doubt a frustrating exercise for many involved.
Norwegian teammate Vetle Bergsvik Thorn admitted it had "not been optimal", the athletes having to wake up early on both days to check if there was a competition to race. Sports director Arlid Tveiten said it was "unprofessional" to not have a back-up plan for if the Seine was not able to be used, but said with time they'd only remember how cool it was to race through central Paris.
"We think it is a bit unprofessional not to have a reserve arena, but at the same time we have to, so there is nowhere in the world where it is cooler to organise a triathlon. I think that's what we're going to remember when we get a little distance," he said.
Making (admittedly quite valid) complaints about dodgy race organisation after a disappointing result? You'll fit in just fine in pro cycling, Kristian...
Our pals at off-road.cc have been busy today, SRAM unveilling Red XPLR AXS, a 13-speed, 1x-only gravel groupset.
Aaron's had it for a while and has penned his thoughts here...
> SRAM Red XPLR AXS groupset review
Meanwhile, SRAM’s high-performance wheel sub-brand, Zipp, has developed two new models specifically for gravel riding. Find out more here...
Apologies for the sporadic blogging folks, plenty happening elsewhere today. Anyway, it would be remiss of me to not dive into the comments on this...
bikes: "I use a garden sprayer. Cheap and no need to plug it in to a power or water source. And it uses very little water, possibly less than using a bucket. A light mist and a brush go a long way."
Dunnoeither: "I've used gas station pressure washers on my commuter many many times and I am struggling to imagine how this could possibly harm any bike when done carefully. Just don't get too close (>3 metres) and avoid the bearings and other sensitive parts."
Jimthebikeguy.com: "No."
andystow: "I don't use one on my bearings, but I've used it to blast off the rims and tyres, mudguards, and the chain. I blow all the water out of the chain with compressed air before re-lubricating it. I can leave my pressure washer hooked up, and turn the power off to rinse sensitive areas with the same wand."
I'm going to give a shout-out to my personal favourite method, the water bottle 'pressure washer'. Dehydrate yourself by not finishing your bottles then spray the muck off before you wheel your bike back to wherever you store it. Gets the worst off, leaves you more time to do the drivetrain, but can give you a cracking headache from all those fluids you didn't touch... win, win, lose...
A week on from this, and Guillaume Martin is off to FDJ...
Intermarché–Wanty responded to the news that stage six of this year's Vuelta will begin INSIDE a supermarket... no, really...
> Hold on, what? Stage six of this year’s Vuelta a España to start inside a Carrefour supermarket
Cool story but Intermarché supermarkets are best 😎 https://t.co/2C16rDDH4Dpic.twitter.com/XSNGZhRed0
— Intermarché-Wanty (@IntermarcheW) July 31, 2024
Cue Lidl-Trek getting in on the act...
Cooler story but @lidl supermarkets are really where it’s at 🤠 https://t.co/PUj7ASwnfypic.twitter.com/uWcTVbWb1p
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) August 1, 2024
August 1 means pro cycling transfers can officially be announced. Two early big-name deals to flag. Ben O'Connor is joining Jayco AlUla (where he may soon be a teammate of a certain triathlon star) and Jhonatan Narváez has swapped Ineos for the UAE Team Emirates empire. These are deals which will begin on January 1 and naturally O'Connor's comes with the obligatory signing announcement vid courtesy of Jayco's social media team...
🖊️ 𝘽𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙣! 🖊️
Let’s get this thing signed!
Welcome 👋🏼 @ben_oconnor95🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/HpjlRHmoTn
— GreenEDGE Cycling (@GreenEDGEteam) August 1, 2024
UAE were more understated, Narvaez (a dark horse for this weekend's Olympic road race) saying he expects to "take another step in the coming years", whether that means classics glory, a place in Pogi's imperious Grand Tour set-up, or both, remains to be seen.
Cycling journalist Carlton Reid and former active travel commissioner for the West Midlands Adam Tranter have been discussing our favourite topic: cycling infrastructure. Carlton's published a photo essay on the "nine-mile, butter smooth Polegate-to-Lewes cycle track", which was described by road.cc contributor Laura Laker as "quite possibly the best rural cycling and walking route in the country to date" in her new book 'Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain's National Cycle Network'. And looking at the photos it's hard to disagree...
It *can* be done. High quality, separated, A to B rural cycle tracks in the UK, that is. PHOTO ESSAY: https://t.co/AABFE3jSob HT @laura_lakerpic.twitter.com/x2scB26ux4
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) July 31, 2024
Meanwhile, Tranter has been pondering active travel investment in a separate thread...
When we build bigger roads, we get more traffic. Congestion briefly gets better, then the same, then worse. £Billions is spent in the process.
Instead of dualling roads, what if we used the space for active travel instead? Here’s a thread on why it should happen.🧵 pic.twitter.com/SE7dny0Q07
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) July 31, 2024
Both well worth a browse this Thursday morning.