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

How difficult is it for a triathlon champion to switch to cycling and still aim to be the best? That's the journey 30-year-old Kristian Blummenfelt is embarking on and time — four years from now — will tell us the answer, as the reigning Olympic champion confirmed this week his ambitious plans to win the Tour de France in 2028.

While some road racing purists may scoff at the Norwegian’s somewhat audacious desire to turn himself into a grand tour winning machine, it's clear he's certainly got the engine to succeed in the peloton. When training to defend his gold medal at the Paris Olympic men's triathlon event this year (supposed to take place this morning but now postponed to tomorrow after reports of pollution in River Seine), the 30-year-old tested for the highest absolute VO2 max (as opposed to relative VO2 max, which factors in weight), ever recorded in history.

And after months of rumours and speculation, Blummenfelt's coach Olav Aleksander Bu finally revealed to Norwegian news outlet TV2 that the 2021 Ironman and world champion will leave behind his running shoes and swimming shorts to complete the switch to cycling solely.

"Let's say that it is 90 percent likely that we will go cycling next year," Bu said. "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"

"We don't go cycling to retire. We go cycling to make a difference," he added.

But is the dream too lofty for the athlete who will turn 34 by the time he plans to wear the maillot jaune? "It's serious," he said. "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 then we will really test it in 2027, and then the goal of going all-in in 2028."

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Switching to cycling means signing a contract with a pro team, and as of now, nothing's concrete yet, but if rumours are to be believed, Team Jayco-AlUla, the Australian UCI WorldTeam formerly known as GreenEdge Cycling, is interested in not only the Blummenfelt's abilities, but also the training methods and the research the endurance athlete from Bergen's camp have been involved in.

In January, TV2 reported that when Blummenfelt tested after last year's season, the results were so startling that they burst out laughing. Then this year, the Olympic champion ended up pushing the limits even further, clocking in the highest measured VO2 max in history.

He said: "I had high hopes before the test. I expected that I would respond well, but I did not imagine these numbers."

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The results showed that the Blummenfelt absorbed more than 7.7 litres of oxygen per minute, that is almost seven per cent more than the highest ever measured, 7.2 litres per minute. "Per kilo, it is not the highest, but if you only look at pure uptake, it is quite a lot higher than what has been recorded so far," he said.

When you look at his VO2 max relative to bodyweight, it turned out to be 96 milliliters per kilogram per minute, just slightly less than the all-time record set by his fellow Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen.

However, Bu claimed that since the season hadn't really started, Blummenfelt's body weight was a little higher than what it will be during the season, and that his real VO2 max per kilogram should come out to be 103. His coach also revealed that it is not just the oxygen uptake that is at a record high — the triathlete also pedals more watts on the bike.

One of the reasons for these numbers could be the interesting training approach they, along with athlete Gustav Iden have developed, dubbed the "Norwegian method" of lactate-controlled double threshold workout that's taken the world of sport, especially pro cycling and ultra-running by storm.

"We feel that the research, development, technology, and approach we have is being met with open arms in some cycling teams, who really want and understand that you need to make a further step up there," Bu said.

While the Triathlon Hour podcast reported that Jayo-AlUla was in the frontrunner's position to lay claim to Blummenfelt and Bu’s forward-thinking ethos as soon as 2025, the team confirmed to Velo that it's all just speculation and nothing's set in stone, or on paper.

Cadel Evans, the first Australian to win the Tour — also at the age of 34 and coincidentally sharing the same birth date as Blummenfelt, spoke about the Norwegian who's aiming to become the first rider from his country to win the Tour as well on Eurosport: "When it comes to the physical part, they have a very good foundation... Acquiring the skills is probably the difficult part."

While it may be difficult, there are a few who've made the switch from triathlon to cycling, such as Cameron Wurf, who when not posting his mental running or swimming stats on Strava, fulfils his domestique duties with Ineos Grenadiers.

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

Tobias Foss, the Norwegian cyclist for Ineos Grenadiers, meanwhile, called Blummenfelt an "insane physical talent", but added that he might need some time if he is wants to catch up with the very best.

So when he lines up to defend his gold medal in Paris tomorrow, is that going to be Blummenfelt's last race as a triathlon athlete at the Olympic? "It is probably quite likely," Blummenfelt told TV2, adding that there is "a lot that can happen" when it comes to which direction the career takes.