Photos: World Triathlon
By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi in Hamburg
Tayler Reid is thankful triathlon isn’t like other Olympic sports where if you miss selection for a Games, the chances for top flight redemption can be few and far between, sometimes even years down the track.
The Gisborne 27-year-old is naturally still hurting after being overlooked for Paris but gets his chance to get back on the horse, so to speak, at this weekend’s World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships in Hamburg.
And yes, the Tokyo 2020 Olympian has a point to prove in Germany.
“Yeah, 100 percent, 100 percent,” Reid said.
“I’ll be going out there trying to prove a point, whether that’s relevant or matters, [I don’t know] but it helps drive me, and that’s the important thing.”
Reid is ranked 7th for Saturday’s individual sprint behind the likes of Aussie Olympic debutant Luke William, overlooked Frenchman Vincent Luis, American Morgan Pearson and Paris medal contenders Matthew Hauser (AUS) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA).
He’ll then team with partner Nicole van der Kaay, Ainsley Thorpe and the man that edged him for Paris selection, Dylan McCullough, in Sunday’s Mixed Relay. New Zealand was second at last year’s World Relay Championships in Hamburg but will be without Hayden Wilde this weekend as the Kiwi No.1 continues his Paris prep at altitude in Andorra.
You can watch Reid and Saxon Morgan in the men’s race from 11:50pm Saturday (NZ time) before van der Kaay, Thorpe and Paris reserve Brea Roderick toe the line in the women’s race from 1:55am Sunday. The mixed relay, also on Sky Sport and Triathlonlive.tv, is scheduled for 1am Monday NZ time. (Check listings).
Altitude attitude
After a series of top results in Asia and Europe that very nearly saw him qualify a third Kiwi slot for Paris, Reid looks in tip-top shape for Hamburg after his first training block at altitude in Font Romeu.
The stint at the Pyrenees ski resort, which straddles the Spanish border in southern France, has Reid fizzing.
“I know I’ve come back down to sea level and done some really good sessions so I’m hoping for a really good one here in Hamburg to test out how altitude works for me,” he said.
“I’ve mainly trained at between around 16 to 1800 metres. While that’s not super high in terms of altitude, it’s probably like quite a good height to do a first time, a first introductory [block at altitude].
“In terms of training location, Font Romeu is really beautiful, crazy good riding, great running in the forest. It feels like you are kind of just living in the forest, like the town’s in the forest. And yeah, great pool to swim in at 1800m, and we rode up at over 2,000 meters. So really cool.”
‘Moving Forward’ …to LA ‘28
Reid made his disappointment at missing selection for Paris crystal clear in a social media post soon afterwards but has made peace with the decision, publicly at least, and wants to move on.
Having van der Kaay to cheer on in training and at the XXXIII Olympiad has and will dampen some of the lingering frustration. Still, it won’t make being the Team NZL male reserve in Paris any easier.
“It’ll be hard being on the sidelines, but I will take a lot of joy from watching Nicole race and hopefully have a really good one. And the rest of the New Zealand team, you know, I only want the best for them and our country, hoping for great results.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed not to make Paris, but, I’ll be doing my reserve role, still training hard and preparing to do that role as well as I can.”
There is, of course, a chance Reid might still race in Paris if misfortune befalls either Wilde or McCullough between now and the men’s race in July 30 or the mixed relay on August 5. Not that anyone, Reid included, wants that outcome.
“You know, I’m not hoping for someone’s downfall. I feel like that is a horrible way to end up on the on the start line and I don’t want to be selected that way. I wanted to earn it outright but, yeah, unfortunately, that [missing selection] is a situation that has happened, and all I can do is be fit and ready to step in if I need to.”
What is guaranteed is that this isn’t the end of Reid’s Olympic story. To his mind, it’s a frustrating chapter in a rollercoaster ride he intends riding all the way to LA 2028 and beyond.
“I’m not very old, like I’ll only be 31 if I went to LA and I feel like I’d still be in great shape then and yeah, 100 percent that’s something I’ll be looking forward to. That said, I don’t think it’s something that’s in the front of my mind right now.
“We’re lucky in the sport of triathlon, a lot of other sports aren’t in that position, where, you know, if they don’t make the Olympics, they’re going home.
“So, there are other races to focus on and bring my attention to. Hopefully, I’ll be in some supertri races after Paris ideally, not sure of that yet, but otherwise there’s World Cups and WTCS Weihai [Sept. 27] and the Grand Final [World Triathlon Championship Finals Torremolinos-Andalucia, Oct. 17-20] to focus on.”
For now though, Hamburg is Reid’s single-minded moment, a new beginning fuelled by frustration and determination to prove he’s anything but done. Don’t be surprised if he takes that cocktail of emotion out on the field in Hamburg to unofficially launch his LA ’28 bid with a bang.
