Feisty Triathlon · Feisty Triathlon podcast

Pro cycling v. pro triathlon with Maya Kingma

·1 hr 8 min·4 clips

Maya Kingma says she likes racing because it has tactics, not just “steady states and be as fast as possible.”

1. Feisty Triathlon episode “Pro cycling v. pro triathlon with Maya Kingma” centers on Maya Kingma talking with Kelly O'Meara and Joanne Murphy about racing, recovery, and schedule conflicts. 2. Kelly O'Meara and Joanne Murphy host the discussion, and Maya Kingma joins from the Netherlands as a professional triathlete who also has a cycling connection. 3. The episode asks what happens when Kona, 70.3 Worlds, T100, and pro cycling all sit on top of each other in one athlete calendar. 4. The hosts start with a correction about the Mixed Team Relay and the Paramixed Team Relay at the World Championships, naming Carson Clough and Owen Crevins. 5. The first big topic is the “Kona comedown,” which Maya describes as the body finally noticing six weeks of hard pushing after the season’s biggest event. 6. Maya says she expects to “hit the wall” around early December, and she mentions getting a little sick the previous week. 7. The conversation then moves to Maya’s pick for the year’s most exciting race, which she says was the Kona women’s race because of the winner’s “soul fight.” 8. Kelly, Joanne, and Maya discuss the women’s field at 70.3 Worlds and the fact that around 23 athletes out of 60 had already said they would not race. 9. They also note that the 70.3 Worlds field could still reach roughly 45 or 50 athletes, making it the biggest 70.3 World Championship field ever. 10. The Dubai T100 grand final comes up next, with the start list said to include Lucy Charles, Julie Daron, and Taylor Nibb even though final starts are still uncertain. 11. Maya and the hosts talk through whether athletes have an obligation to show up when schedules overlap, and Joanne argues the calendar is too intertwined for that expectation. 12. Kelly points out that world triathlon athletes are used to racing around the globe much more often than Ironman athletes. 13. Maya says the broader problem is that “triathlon is biting yourself in the ass” when every brand tries to become a series. 14. She says athletes cannot be at their best at Kona, 70.3 Worlds, and Dubai T100 all at once, and she calls it a shame when an athlete can only use one race as a build toward another. 15. The episode also gets into qualification fairness, with Kelly raising the example of a third-place athlete missing a world slot when the race winner later decides not to start. 16. The hosts and Maya debate start lists versus actual starters, and they say the uncertainty changes both athlete planning and spectator expectations. 17. The tone is conversational and very inside-baseball, with the hosts interrupting, joking, and checking calendars while Maya answers from the Netherlands. 18. The format shifts from current results to training habits, off-season routines, pool access, and the practical realities of being a pro athlete. 19. Listeners who follow triathlon calendars, qualification rules, and pro racing schedules will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a tightly edited, story-driven race recap may skip it.

As heard by us

A candid women's triathlon conversation that centers on the move toward cycling and lingers a bit on pool etiquette.

Maya Kingma's late-night conversation from the Netherlands stays grounded in a simple question: what changes once cycling enters the picture? That thread runs through the episode, along with a correction from Worlds, a detour into pool etiquette, and a quick look at who raced…

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Why you'd press play

If you want the practical side of a triathlete eyeing pro cycling, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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