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Was a silver medal in the mixed relay enough to get Taylor Knibb to the Ironman World Championship in Nice?

Even if it is, the American star might opt to compete at the world cycling championships

Photo by: Kevin Mackinnon

Taylor Knibb’s incredible final leg that vaulted the American team to the silver medal at today’s triathlon mixed relay certainly turned the Games around for the American star, who had struggled through her first two events in Paris. Knibb, of course, was a two-sport star at these Games, having qualified for the American cycling team thanks to her national time trial win last May, along with having made the triathlon team thanks to her sixth-place finish at the Paris Test Event last year. Unfortunately those two events didn’t exactly go well – she crashed three times in the wet conditions of the time trial, and finished a disappointing 19th in the individual triathlon race.

Taylor Knibb crashes three times during Olympic Time Trial

Knibb also managed to sandwich her second 70.3 world title, a fourth in her Ironman debut in Kona and other dominating middle-distance performances to the mix, too – dominating 70.3 Oceanside and the T100 San Francisco races, too. With all that going on, it’s hardly a surprise that Knibb might be ready to give the draft-legal scene a break. After her incredible sprint today, Knibb was her usual forthright self during her interviews.

First up was the question of whether or not we might see her in Nice for the Ironman World Championship in September.

Laura Lindemann said she could barely hang on to Knibb’s wheel through the second lap of the bike. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

“Ironman said after the individual (race) that a medal would have really helped in order to race in Nice, so hopefully they’ll consider today,” Knibb said. The issue is that she’s only done one 70.3 race this year, and no Ironman races, so she’s a 70.3 short of ratifying her slot for the worlds.

All that might be a moot point, anyway, as Knibb doesn’t seem to be done with her time trial goals.

“I applied for time trial worlds as a discretionary pick … and that’s the same day as Nice,” she said. The world championships this year are in Zurich. Knibb is looking to compete there, “because next year it is in Rwanda at the end of September. And next year, if I want to go to Kona, I don’t think the road to Kona goes through Rwanda. So, thinking about the time trial, and Ironman and other forms of triathlon – how we piece it all together – I give my coach a lot of challenges.”

Taylor Knibb proves once again she’s in a class of her own with huge win at T100 San Francisco

You think? Considering Dan Lorang coaches other triathletes (Lucy Charles-Barclay and Anne Haug, to name a couple), along with the World Tour cycling team Bora-Hansgrohe, its hard to imagine how he even keeps up with Knibb’s various goals, let alone tries to keep them in check.

Knibb had also qualified for the US cycling road team, but ended up giving up her spot, which was filled by Kirsten Faulkner – who ended up winning the road race yesterday.

“It wasn’t an option,” Knibb said of the decision to give up the spot. “I have a smart coach and there’s no ego involved. It would have been highly inappropriate for me to line up. I held on to it (the position on the road team), probably a little bit longer, to almost guarantee a spot on this relay.”

Time to move on from draft-legal racing?

Considering her long-distance success over the last few years, it’s hardly a surprise to hear that Knibb is looking to focus on those races over the next little bit.

“I’m at piece from moving on from World Triathlon, especially in the direction they’re heading,” she said. “Whether I come back or not, we’ll see, but I’m at peace with for a break and focusing on T100.”

Taylor Knibb on her way to a big win at T100 San Francisco. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon

For Knibb, the courses found at most World Triathlon races has become a source of frustration, along with the declining number of events in the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS).

“Before Rio in 2016 I think there were 10 WTCS races, this year there were four of five – and one of those got cancelled,” Knibb said. “They (the WTCS races) are massive, massive trips for Americans. We are not hosting any. The first thing I said after the individual race is how do we change the course for LA. I don’t want to lap around the parking lot in Long Beach. I am told the IOC has already approved it.”

“There are a lot of exciting races out there, and that’s my choice,” Knibb continued. “My bike is my strength and I’m going own my strength.”

Whether or not we’ll see Knibb utilizing that bike strength in Nice or Zurich this September remains up in the air. What you can be sure of, though, is that she’ll be riding her bike fast and hard, all while trying to balance a complicated schedule of Ironman, T100 and time trial races.

Good luck figuring it all out, Dan Lorang.