dan was first a tri coach
Neal henderson was first a tri coach he I believe now sodaros coach and used to coach knibb and Duffy
Olaf was first a tri coach
Luis delahaye ,ex jumbo visma was first a tri coach
interestingly the coach kat left had started in cycling first before triathlon and was also involved in physiological testing with bora cycling team last year.
ashleigh gentle is the only coach that has a coach that really comes from cycling
and flora Duffy many years ago employed a cycle coach that had never worked in tri and only in cycling and many people were disappointed with her long course bike last year.
kerron ex team sky was a swim coach
ie I do not think there really is a trend , or at least its by far not as clear as some want to paint it. I guess the trend is that a good tri coach back in the days were likely approached by cycle teams .
while cycling has become very professional in the early 2000 and 2010s triathlon was a good bit ahead of cycling ie. cyclist often did not really have coaches while triathlon feds already head coaches
and both lorang and delayhaye were German triathlon nat coach for instance before they were employed by cycle teams and lorangs first athlete was Anne haug.
and of course it was not a surprise that Sutton did well in triathlon as swimming in the 80 s and 90s was ahead of triathlon
Why pray tell? If an athlete thinks they need to up their cycling game to be competitive and they have been with a particular coach for a good amount of time without seeing the gains they’re looking for it would seem like the appropriate time to try changing things up.
I wonder what Geesmann was getting so wrong in the bike training to lose his top two athletes? I just find it odd that cycling coaches would have any knowledge advantage to top tier ‘Triathlon’ coaches.
I do understand athletes needing a change of stimulus and coaches - I just struggle to accept we are now pulling away from triathlon being a ‘single’ sport - back to single sport philosophies driving again.
I suggest evidence shows, on balance, Geesmann was doing everything right and nothing wrong. Under his coaching (Lange fünf Jahre, seit Nov 2019 till mid-2024; Matthews three full years since Jan2022-Dec2024):
Lange won or second in Roth 21/22/23 and bounced back from his 2019 and 22 Kona disappointments to his #2 in IMWC 2023 and his third win in 2024 (coaching credit for which can reasonably be claimed by Geesmann (hope he got a % of the $125,000 and the IM Pro Series bonus)).
Matthews was #2 to Ryf in IMWC 2021(May 22, St George), went Sub 8, recovery from life threatening injury to a competitive 2023 (#2 in 70.3WC Lahti) and then 2024’s tour de force with her IM Pro Series win, #2 in both Nice and Taupo , and #4 in the T100 Tour.
Is that success?
As you say: “athletes need a change of stimulus and coach”. DTD has talked about this. Neither Lange nor Matthews are ‘give me a programme and I’ll follow’ type athletes: they are fully engaged.
And for the women, they have an urgent imperative: to close the gap to Knibb on the bike (applies to Gentle, Derron, Duffy, LCB, Philipp as well as Matthews).
Triathlon, like many sports is getting faster and faster, technology and innovation are playing a big part. There are more and more ‘specialists’ and fewer ‘generalists’. Pro cycling has new functions within the team.
So people like Chelsea, maybe Kat, see there is a specific area they need to work on so bring in specialists. A good bike will get Ashley, Kat, Chelsea, Patrick on the podium. Their runs are already there. I am guessing this is why they hire people proven in a specific sport
This doesn’t mean the person has to come from cycling. But someone who has seen some of the innovation (in tech, training methods, nutrition…) at the pointy end of cycling is probably a good pick
Of course a good tri coach can have played there (Lorang).
I feel cycling culture is more open into bringing in specialists.
Yeah, the thing with Kat is that Geesmann was precisely that sort of specialist. So whatever her reason was to part ways with him, it’s not that he wasn’t cycling-oriented enough.
If one’s progress in biking seems stagnant to an athlete and they’re doing everything their coach is advising to do, then what other alternative is there beyond changing coaches?
Fair enough. I was referring more to my experience with some of the ‘elite’ coaches where I don’t think budget is the biggest driver.
And I should not generalize. Maybe I was not lucky.
No, I am not saying that.
My gut tells me team Sky managed to do both and they where early to bring in all types of specialists in search of marginal gains.
yes I would agree with you 2nd assessment but its not like there was no money in cycling before team sky.
and as for budget and elite coaches I would agree that for a Kona winner budget is not really the biggest concern but for an non Kona top three the budget drops off very quickly.
think about this that when a 4th place ironman finisher does not have a bike sponsor for more than half a year …
The reason (for cycling specialist coaches) is not to get “on the podium”, they’re doing that already, multiple times. “A good bike will get” them to T2 not overbiked and set up to use that run excellence: for the WIN.
Same for Marjolaine Pierré in 2024 (and off the back of her great result in the IMWC she got a Canyon contract for 2025 (at least).
Sanchez was 6th fastest on the bike and finished #6. Unsponsored she rode a Cervélo P5. T100 contract this year. Racing IMSA and then flying straight to Singapore: maybe she’ll share transport with MvR?