Gisborne triathlete Reid looking to the future

Gisborne's Tayler Reid on the run leg of the World Triathlon Cup elite men's race held as part of the Napier Tri Festival. Photo / @worldtriathlon/@cammackenziephotos

Los Angeles 2028 is on Gisborne triathlete Tayler Reid’s radar, but he also has an eye on the longer term.

It’s with that longer view in mind that he entered the Ironman 70.3 Geelong on March 23.

The 70.3 relates to the total race distance in miles – 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometres) for the swim, 56 miles (90km) for the bike and 13.1 miles (21.1km) for the run. It’s exactly half the length of an ironman.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Reid said.

“It’ll be the first I’ve done. I’ve been in the velodrome in Cambridge, and spent four hours testing different positions and stuff to try to dial in more aerodynamics for the cycle leg.

“I’ll be riding a TT (time trial) bike, which is more aerodynamic (than a triathlon or road bike). You’re sitting in a position where you can just see above your hands, and you sit there the whole time.

“It’s different from the bike leg of a short-course race where everyone’s drafting and riding in a big bunch.”

Ironman and half-ironman (70.3) races require a gap of six bike-lengths between bikes. Overtaking must be done within strict time limits.

“A TT bike is good for getting up to speed but not good for taking corners,” Reid said.

“If you rode TT bikes in a bunch, you’d just crash.”

The 70.3 in Geelong, 75km south-west of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, is the first race in the 17-leg 2025 Ironman Pro Series. But Reid is not embarking on a full-scale campaign over that distance.

World Triathlon races over the classic course of 1.5km for the swim, 40km for the bike and 10km for the run will continue to be his staple as he mounts his bid for a place in the team for the Los Angeles Olympics.

“That will be my last crack at the Olympics,” Reid said. “From then on, I’ll focus entirely on long-course. For now, it’s middle-distance – the half-ironman – and short-course.”

Reid, 28, finished seventh – and first New Zealander – in his first hit-out of the year, at the Napier Tri Festival on February 23. He completed the 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run in 50 minutes 51 seconds – 21 secs after the winner, David Castro Fajardo, of Spain.

“I was a little disappointed because it was my home race and I wanted to get on the podium,” Reid said.

“I was going well but made a couple of tactical errors. It was an okay start to the campaign. I’m notorious for starting the year slow and building into it.”

Tayler Reid (right) set to start the World Triathlon Cup elite men's race in Napier. Reid finished seventh - the best of the Kiwis. Photo / @worldtriathlon/@cammackenziephotos

Since early December he’s had a new coach - Ben Reszel, of Germany.

Stephen Sheldrake – another notable Gisborne triathlete – was Reid’s coach for 12 years.

“That’s a massive part of my career,” Reid said.

“We finished our partnership because he has taken up a new role in Tri New Zealand (as national performance manager) that pretty much requires all his time. It was sad to end that coaching relationship, but I still talk to him a lot because of his role ... we finished on great terms.”

Reid is enjoying the challenges that go with getting a new coach.

“It’s kind of cool adjusting to a fresh approach.”

Apart from a collision with a car while on a training ride, Reid has steered clear of the type of injuries that often afflict triathletes.

“It’s probably been a combination of being lucky and being well managed,” he said.

It might seem like a glamorous life – jetting between exotic places, performing in front of big crowds and being seen on screens around the world – but Reid chuckles at the idea.

“It can happen to anyone... you just have to put in the work. I love it, and it comes with a lot of cool benefits.

“But I am also training 30 hours a week. That is time on the pedals, in the pool or out running, and not counting preparing my diet and sessions in the gym.

“After Covid, I changed my approach a bit. I’d been travelling around the world a lot and hadn’t seen anything.

“You can fly in to a place, go to a hotel, race, go back to the hotel, fly out to the next race, go to the hotel, and so on.

“Since Covid, I’ve tried to make time to see something of the places we visit.”

Reid has been a full-time triathlete since he left Gisborne Boys’ High School 10 years ago.

“I always wanted to be a professional athlete. My main sports were surf lifesaving, swimming, judo and then triathlon. I think I just excelled in triathlon the most. I loved training and that gave me the most variety of training and the biggest opportunity to do it professionally.”

He says he’ll keep competing as long as he loves it, and has thought about the possibility of coaching in the future.

“You can coach kids, age-groupers, professionals, other triathletes. I try to help out my little brother Couper. He’s 12. He and my dad (Andrew Reid) and I go out for a run when I’m home.

“It’s cool...my mum and stepdad (Jackie and Shane Clapperton), if I’m doing a running session, will come out on the bike and pace me... everyone doing triathlon in some shape or form.”