It has been a minute since we have seen Barbara Riveros (CHI) in the WTCS. The four-time Olympian and multiple WTCS medallist last graced the Series stage four years ago, tackling WTCS Leeds and the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021. Now she is back with WTCS French Riviera in her sights.
“After Tokyo my goal was to qualify for Kona,” said Riveros. “I qualified twice, once before Tokyo - but I couldn’t go - and then after Tokyo, when we focused full-time, I qualified for 2023.”
However, in July 2023 all of her plans were thrown into disarray. “I got hit by a car in a big accident,” explained Riveros. “I had a few bones broken, my hip was broken, and there was a lot of internal bleeding as well, but the most dangerous one was my head. There was internal bleeding there too. So then, of course, I couldn't go to Kona that year. Since then it's been really hard to come back to the sport, to get to a decent level.”
“I know that I have the level. My 2022 was a pretty good year. It's not that I wasn't competitive; I was. But yeah, as I said, after the accident it's been really hard to come back.”
Following her recovery and return to elite racing, it took a conversation with her coach Brett Sutton, who also coaches Olympic silver medallist Julie Derron, to change tacks.
“Last year we decided to go back into short course racing and see what happens. He's (Brett Sutton) the head coach in China, so I was kind of like the assistant coach there as well and helping the juniors. So I started to train for short course. Early this year, around February, my dad saw the world ranking and I was like 1000th, so we were pretty much starting from zero.”
A first race back came in Malaysia in February at a Continental Cup. As she blew away some short course cobwebs, Riveros placed 9th. But then, a small injury to her iliotibial band put her out of planned races at further Continental Cups in China in the spring. In the summer, her attempts to race in Europe were then thwarted by her world ranking. “I was always stuck on the waiting list,” was Riveros’ summary.
One of the big drivers behind Riveros’ decision to shift back into short course racing was a candid assessment of her strengths with her coach. “He’s really honest and straightforward, and I appreciate that a lot,” she recounted. “He was like, ‘Well, Barb, in long distance you can get to a decent level on the bike but you're not actually showing all your ability and your skills because it's all about power and weight’. He thought Kona might suit me better but at the moment he could see I have good skills on the bike that I wasn’t showing over the longer distance.”
When it comes to bike handling skills, Riveros has thrived over all styles of triathlon, from short to long distance and even to off-road racing. Such qualities were on full display as she claimed a bronze medal at the World Cross Triathlon Championships in Pontevedra earlier this summer before adding a gold at the Europe Triathlon Xterra Cross Championships Prachatice.
In Pontevedra, she even raced on a borrowed bike and, although she felt her levels have dropped slightly since her crash, she carved through the course as well as any of the full-time off-road pros.
A week after Pontevedra, her comeback found a new level with a mini-breakthrough at the Saidia World Cup in June. Having managed to secure a start, Riveros scored another 9th place finish. As a result, she rocketed up the world rankings. Although she will need plenty more points to secure more reliable starts, she hopes to race at WTCS Weihai and in the autumn South American World Cup swing.
Gradually, Riveros’ labours in her return to short course racing have started to yield fruit. Yet the question still beckons. For an athlete that had essentially completed short distance triathlon over an illustrious career, why take the plunge back into the fastest format?
“I have something deeper than recognition or money. It's something that I want to achieve personally. We always said over the last couple of years that I maybe should have retired, but I am still going and I still have the fire inside and the voice that says, ‘maybe you still have something’. And that's really a personal thing. I'm chasing my own ambitions. I’m chasing dreams.”
And the dream now? Is LA 2028 the ambition?
“Well, you know, as we talked before, there’s been a lot of setbacks. So I like to go season by season now. I wish I could get to LA, but I really need to narrow down and just think, ‘ok, what's next?’ May will start Olympic qualification and hopefully I will have a better ranking, so then I can start with a different step forward. And hopefully my level will keep getting better, but saying that, my main goal is to be consistent in training. I know I can improve and then get close to the level I have, but at the moment, it’s about finding that consistency that I've been missing the last couple of years.”
This weekend, the next step in Riveros’ journey comes at WTCS French Riviera. Much as Riveros and her coach were honest with one another about her trajectory at the start of the season, so too is she honest with herself about her expectations for the race.
“I didn't really expect to make it to WTCS French Riviera,” she admitted. “I think it was only because the start list wasn't full. I know I don't have, right now, the level of a World Triathlon Series, but I need points. So this is why we decided to go and the aim is to get whatever points I can.”
For an athlete as experienced as Riveros, one aspect of the race will be going up against the new stars of the sport. She has already tested herself against Emma Snowsill, Gwen Jorgensen, Flora Duffy and many more over the years, but now is the era of the likes of Cassandre Beaugrand, Beth Potter and Lisa Tertsch.
“I always watch the races, and they are doing amazing. I have raced Cassandre a few times in the French Grand Prix and even had some sprint finishes with her. But she has raised her level a lot and they're running really fast. She's been amazing, so consistent. Like last year, in the Series Final, she was amazing, you know, how she got lost in the swim and still put in an amazing performance.”
“I remember, when I went to the Olympics last year – I was there to support Julie Derron and my brother who was racing on the men’s side – my dad asked me what my feeling was watching the race. I said that it was a mix of feelings, but one of the things I said was that I wouldn't like to be there if I'm not competitive and I’m just there to be another number. I want to race.”
“So personally, I feel at the moment I don't belong there, but it doesn't mean I will not give a fight. For me, it's about finding that consistency and progression so that I can compete. But I will really give it my best there, and hopefully I don't get lost!”
One thing Riveros noted was that in her current state she might be better suited to an Olympic distance race than the sprint distance on offer in the French Riviera. At the same time, it has to be noted that she is a former world champion over the sprint distance (in Lausanne in 2011) and so has her fair share of tricks to call upon.
“I think I’m lacking speed right now. The race is just pretty fast and then you cannot make any mistakes. But I know I need that at the moment, and I will do two French Grand Prix races afterwards because I need this fast twitch, I need that agony in the sprint; to get back that speed that is key.”
In many respects, then, WTCS French Riviera looks like it will be the start of Riveros’ next chapter, regardless of how the race pans out. In the wider picture, her hope is that she can inject further momentum into a rising Chilean squad that sent two men to Paris (Diego Moya and Gaspar Riveros). Her advice to younger triathletes, both Chilean and beyond, is simple.
“It's a long, long way. Even with Julie, some people said, ‘Oh, where has she come from?’. But she’s been doing triathlons since she was seven years old. Of course people mature to their potential at different times, but the work ethic is very important. It’s what keeps you going. I remember going through the junior ranks and you can see so much talent. I think even my coach at that time probably said I don't have much talent but I have that work ethic. When I was training with Gwen (Jorgensen) her work ethic was amazing but she’s so talented as well. You really have to commit everything to the dream.”
On paper, at least, Barbara Riveros is an athlete that appears to have achieved her sporting dreams. Yet it seems she is not ready to step off this long road winding ever forwards. Ambitions burning bright, she is primed to write a new chapter, and at WTCS French Riviera and beyond it will be fascinating to see what comes next.
