The cycling world might have lost a big name in 2020, but that means triathlon is about to welcome a new star to the show: Adam Hansen. After 17 years of professional cycling, the Australian retired after the Giro d’Italia in 2020 and shifted his focus to triathlon. And he’s taking the new sport very seriously, even building his own swimming pool for training, he told VeloNews.
Hansen finished his first full-distance race at Ironman Florida in 2019 in 9:05:54 (58:20/ 4:15:23/ 3:37), and hopes to toe the line at Ironman Taiwan in March.
Hansen lives in the Czech Republic and always finds creative ways to keep himself busy, whether it’s printing 3D face masks, molding cycling shoes or training for long distance triathlons. “I’m taking some time off and slowly building a good environment for me to progress faster long term,” Hansen told VeloNews. “I’m doing a lot of things at the moment. I’m building my own bike for triathlon, which is taking some time. So that’s pretty exciting for me at the moment”.
Building a pool
Hansen is also keeping himself busy with another interesting project: building his own pool. “I am working on a swimming pool that works like a treadmill, but really small – just enough for freestyle”.
Hansen is enjoying the opportunity to work on these projects since he’s retired from cycling. “Not having someone over my shoulder telling me what not to do or what I can not do has been a big change since retirement”.
“I love running”
After so many years riding a bike, it comes at no surprise that Hansen is spending as little time as possible on the bike. “Cycling is actually my least favorite of the disciplines right now,” he says. “I love running, and I am using a LEOMO (motion sensing technology which is also used for bike fits) to really get my running perfected, and I am really enjoying the science of this. It’s super interesting”.
After last year’s Giro d’Italia, his favorite race, Hansen decided it was time for something different, and he doesn’t feel any regret. “The Giro was the perfect way to retire. I would not have had it any other way”.
