While the London Olympics are still almost two years away, the preparation has already started for Ryan Sissons.
Ultimately, the results he gets in 2011 will dictate whether or not he qualifies and is selected to race at London 2012.
The 22-year-old from Auckland is back into brutal training following a short break at the end of the 2010 season.
Ryan performed well last season and says he learnt many lessons that will help his future development in the sport.
"It [2010] was really good for me. It was another huge learning curve before next year,” he says.
"I set myself some pretty hard goals – one was a podium at world champs which I managed to do in September in Budapest [where he won silver].
"That was definitely my highlight of the season. It was awesome to get that medal and stand on the podium.”
Now Ryan is looking to take his triathlon career to a whole new dimension with the dream of making it to the Olympics.
This season will be a bit different for him, as he plans to peak later to try and be in top form for Olympic selection.
That means less racing on home turf in New Zealand and more overseas, however Ryan still plans to compete in the Takapuna, Kinloch and Wellington Contact Tri Series races.
"I’ve really got to manage my training and racing to try and get selected for Olympics.
"Because of that I decided to do a few less races in New Zealand and get that one right overseas to qualify.”
Ryan also has plans to race against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong along with Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell at the Rotorua Blue Lake Multisport Festival in January.
"First of all I wasn’t sure if it was true or not [Armstrong’s entry] but obviously it’s all been confirmed so it’s great for the sport in this country.
"There’s going to be a lot of media attention around it and we want to make sure it’s a bit of fun for everyone, including Lance.”
