The reigning Olympic gold medalist has a list of remarkable achievements to his name, and the win in Singapore can be added to that list. After racing in Paris to get a firsthand preview of the course that will be used for the 2024 Olympic Games triathlon next year, Blummenfelt flew to Singapore, shook off the jet lag, and scored his first-ever PTO Tour win along with the $100,000 winner’s purse.
“I’m very happy and relieved,” Blummenfelt said after the win. “I’ve been chasing this three years now and to finally be able to take it is a massive relief. Two weeks ago at the PTO U.S. Open, 60km into the bike leg, I thought I had it in my pocket but it sort of slipped out when I cramped coming off the bike—so you can’t really celebrate too early.”
After becoming the first triathlete to hold the Olympic, World Triathlon and World Championship titles at the same time, Blummenfelt is now transitioning from a focus on Ironman-distance events back to shorter distances as he prepares for the Olympics next year. The PTO Tour events, including the U.S. Open, European Open and Asian Open, are roughly half the distance of a full Ironman, with a 2km swim, 80km bike ride and 18km run.
For the Singapore race, Blummenfelt chose to ride his CADEX Tri frameset and Aero WheelSystem including a full Disc rear wheel and 4-Spoke front to gain a maximum aerodynamic advantage. The race started with a two-lap swim in Marina Bay. Blummenfelt was joined by fellow CADEX athletes Gustav Iden and Sam Appleton in a chase group coming out of the water about 30 seconds behind early race leader Josh Amberger of Australia.
Hopping onto his CADEX bike in the first transition, Blummenfelt began to show his strength as he moved up and settled into his pace near the front behind Belgian Pieter Heemeryck, who had moved into the lead.
Unfortunately, Blummenfelt’s friend and fellow Norwegian Gustav Iden, the 2022 Ironman World Champion, crashed at about the 30km mark and was forced to abandon the race.
Blummenfelt, meanwhile, put in a strong ride to hit T2 in second, about 2 minutes behind Heemeryck. He began to narrow the gap on the run and managed to catch and pass the Belgian with 8km to go. From there, Blummenfelt ran away with it, soaking up the feeling in the final kilometers.
“When I finally sort of knew I have a PTO Tour win, it’s what I felt I’ve been missing,” Blummenfelt said. “I’m proud to have been able to do those back-to-back races. When I put my schedule out for what I’m doing in August, a lot of people said it’s too much, and it sort of makes no sense. But next year is all about [The Olympics], and this year is building up to that.”
With the win in Singapore, Blummenfelt also completed a podium sweep of the 2023 PTO Tour events: 2nd at the European Open, third at the U.S. Open, and first at the Asian Open.
Appleton, also racing with his CADEX Tri Frameset and Aero WheelSystem, turned in a strong performance as well, finishing ninth to make it two CADEX athletes in the top-10.
“I am pretty happy with my race and bagging another top-10 with my ninth place here in Singapore and 10th at the U.S. Open in Milwaukee two weeks ago,” Appleton said.
For Blummenfelt, the busy schedule continues as he now looks ahead to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Finland this coming weekend.