Originally published at: Taylor Knibb’s “New Team” is Nailing it in 2024 – and So Is She - Slowtwitch News
Taylor Knibb at the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship press conference in Taupo, New Zealand. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon
Even if she doesn’t take a third straight title this weekend at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship here in Taupo (and believe me, I am the last person who will say that doesn’t appear to be in the cards), it would be hard to argue that American Taylor Knibb hasn’t been the best triathlete of 2024.
She went unbeaten in her T100 appearances, which earned her the T100 World Championship. An incredibly gutty performance in the mixed relay in Paris helped net her American team a second-straight silver medal. She also won the US National Time Trial Championship and earned herself a spot on the US Olympic cycling team. She dominated IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, and is the prohibitive favorite for this weekend’s 70.3 worlds.
In addition to being one of the best athletes in the sport, Knibb is also extremely intelligent and insightful – as one would expect from any Cornell grad. So I understood when she bristled a bit with my first question of the interview about her approach going into this weekend’s race and dealing with the pressure of going after the three-peat. Yes, I knew that she had answered that very question in the press conference we were both at, but I was looking for more detail on the process of how athletes like Knibb are able to shut out all the “noise” leading up to a big event.
That’s when the concept of her “team” came up.
“I think it’s easy because I have a fully new team,” she said. “I just won a world title (the T100 Triathlon World Series) with Dan (Lorang) as my coach, so this would be our first 70.3 worlds together. If you knew all the changes that have gone on in my life since the last win in Lahti, Finland – it’s been a lot. So it’s just kind of a new outlook on life and I appreciate it.”
She had her first conversation with Dan Lorang, the super-coach who worked with Jan Frodeno and continues to coach Lucy Charles-Barclay and Anne Haug, after her fourth-place finish in Kona last year. Frodeno was set to retire, which meant that Lorang, who is the head coach of the Bora-Hansgrohe pro cycling team, had one spot opening in his coaching roster.
While Lorang heads up the coaching program, Knibb truly does have a team of coaches who cover the day to day work. There’s Lawrence Van Lingen, her running technique coach, Julie Dibens, who handles the swim training, and Erin Carson, her strength coach. She’s also working with a movement coach and a nutritionist, while Patrick Lemieux is her manager.
Lorang oversees all this, and, according to Knibb, there are no issues with the communication and collaboration between all the people involved in the process.
While Lorang had never worked with a swim coach who also coached triathletes, it wasn’t long before Knibb was seeing the real benefits Dibens’ experience as a 70.3 world champ (and the 70.3 worlds bike course record holder) brings to the mix.
“One of the greatest strengths that Julie brings to the team is understanding that if (for example) I did a run workout 60 minutes prior, it’s going to have an effect on my swim,” Knibb said. “She understands that and she doesn’t get worried. Actually, one day I told her ‘I’m really nervous for the swim you gave me,’ and she wrote me back ‘I’m more nervous about your bike workout.’ She understands. I think that … everyone understands what they need to do. We trust Dan, and he’s very smart and he’s proven himself – many, many, many times. So we just listened to the boss.”
“Dan is so efficient,” Knibb continued. “I do a lot more of my training alone now. I was having three-hour rides take five to six hours because there was a lot of ‘coaching,’ talking and waiting for other people. It was just a very inefficient system that I was a part of before.”
She cites, as an example, her swim sessions with Dibens – “We dive in at 9:00 AM … and she’s walking off the deck at 10:31. We do not mess around. You get the work done when it needs and it’s respectful of each other’s time, and that was something that I didn’t have before. I have a lot more time this year. I’m not doing less (training). I might be doing more, but I have a lot more time in my day because my team members are just a lot more respectful of that time.”
Despite her confidence in the “team,” Knibb was still surprised at how well she bounced back after being sick after the Olympics. After spending a week in bed, her first workout back was an easy hour spin on the bike. The next day all she could manage was a walk.
“By the time I flew to Ibiza (for the T100 event), I had like five decent weeks of training,” she said. “You kind of need six. After the race it took a bit longer to recover, which bleeds into the time to prepare for Vegas. Dan works his magic and I have no idea how he got me from where I was in August to where I was in Ibiza.”
Knibb did have to pass on the World Time Trial Championships in September, though – “I had to say no to that because I just wouldn’t be ready,” she said. That was likely not an easy call, since Knibb has really enjoyed her foray into elite cycling.
“My experience with USA Cycling was amazing,” she said.
With Lorang’s cycling expertise and the success Knibb enjoyed at the national championships (she crashed a number of times on the slick, water-logged Olympic TT), we shouldn’t be surprised to see Knibb compete in a few time trials next year. Add to that an appearance in Kona – last year she made it clear that she was racing on the Big Island in order to experience the event and be fully prepared for a return in 2025.
And, thanks to her impressive talent and the “team” that helps her excel, we shouldn’t be surprised to see her successfully defend her 70.3 world title this weekend, either.
