Jimmy Whelan has set out his targets for the 12 months after ditching professional biking to grow to be a professional triathlete, as he gears up for his first race subsequent month.

Aussie Whelan made the momentous determination to finish a seven-year street biking profession in October, and competed in his first triathlon in Melbourne on January 13, when he completed on the rostrum in third.

Now, the 28-year-old is making ready for his first massive take a look at in swim/bike/run – IRONMAN 70.3 in Geelong, Australia on March 25, and he has excessive hopes he could make a huge impact within the sport.

Swim work the key to success

Jimmy instructed TRI247: “I’m fairly curious to see how this 12 months goes. If I can kind out the swim then I feel I could possibly be aggressive in some massive races.

“My debut professional race is the Geelong 70.3 in a bit below a month’s time. The coaching goes nicely up to now. I’ve had a stable 4 months now of constant coaching with none sicknesses or severe accidents so it’s been a really good introduction block to the brand new sport. My using and working is as much as a prime professional normal nonetheless I have to work on my swim.”

Whelan made waves within the biking world by profitable the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2018, a breakthrough which led to him doing a three-year stint racing on the WorldTour, making his Grand Tour debut in 2020 on the Giro D’Italia. Final 12 months he was below contract with the Q36.5 Professional Biking Staff.

Whereas he admits his greatest problem in triathlon is adapting to the swim, he has made vital progress already.

Jimmy instructed us: “After I first began (in October) I might solely swim at 2min/100m and now I can swim fairly simply at 1:20/100m. I’m swimming about 10-12k per week, which some could say just isn’t sufficient, however I discover it’s probably the most my physique can deal with given my run and experience quantity. It appears to be steadiness for the second.

“I’ve a good swim method which has been critiqued by specialists so I simply have to put the effort and time in over just a few extra months to get quicker.”

2024 targets – ‘lofty’ ones for Jimmy

Whelan’s targets for the 12 months embrace profitable a 70.3 occasion, getting a wildcard into T100 and to qualify for the 70.3 World Championship in Marbella in November.

He admitted: “These are lofty targets. Nonetheless if I can kind the swimming out then I really assume this stuff are potential, in the fitting race after all.

“I feel lots of people are curious to see how I’m going to go as a result of I do have the using and working to a world-class normal which is a should have if you wish to win massive stuff and loads of athletes shouldn’t have these attributes.”

A couple of months on from that huge profession transfer, Jimmy says he has zero regrets about his massive swap.

“I’m actually proud of the choice I made. I believed I’d be watching street biking and lacking the races on TV. Nonetheless that’s removed from the fact,” he revealed.

“I’m excited to be making an attempt one thing new and difficult, and by difficult I don’t simply imply the bodily calls for of the races, however moderately setting a brand new life-style with new folks and creating primarily a brand new enterprise for myself. It’s loads of work nonetheless if I do it appropriately then I can have fairly an extended and completely satisfied profession on this new sport.”

After Geelong, Whelan will race on the IRONMAN 70.3 in Valencia on April 27 earlier than competing at Aix-en-Provence on Could 18 and Rapperswil-Jona on June 1. He then plans to spend one month doing altitude coaching at Font Romeu to organize for the 70.3 in Good on June 29.

After Good, Jimmy will take a one-week mid-season break earlier than one other altitude block to organize for IRONMAN 70.3 Austria on August 31. After that it is going to be IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta in late September, earlier than rounding off the 12 months in Marbella on November 9 (qualification allowing).