Vincent Luis is the star of episode six of Dare to Dream 2: The Next Move, released Wednesday 26 November at 8pm CEST on World Triathlon YouTube and TriathlonLive.
The new episode looks back over a year that has been one of new horizons for Luis, who raced his final short course in the French tri-suit at the 2024 Championship Finals Torremolinos, retiring as a double World Champion and Olympic Bronze medallist in the Tokyo 2020 Mixed Relay.
'The hardest decision wasn't to stop the short distance racing. It was more like, ‘When? When should I stop?’ And in my head I had it maybe it should be after Tokyo. You know, that was kind of what I thought. And then I was like, 'ah, Paris 2024!' You know, that's a home Olympic Games.'
'Coming from the start of the year when I could barely make it to a start list, to being on the start line of the Grand Final and with Pierre le Corre and Leo Bergere, and they could play for the world title. So I was also there willing to help them to try and play for this world title just as they helped me in 2019 and all these years before.'
After a year hampered by injury and denied a shot at the Paris 2024 Olympic start line, 2025 was always going to be about rebuilding for Luis. Offered one of eight T100 Hot Shot contracts, the distance represented a fresh challenge and spotlight he was keen to thrive in.
Luis may not have been able to rediscover the sensation of taking the tape in both hands but, after a tough debut in Singapore, the results are showing. Add in a first ever full distance at Challenge Roth, finishing just off the podium and, with injuries now hopefully behind him, a big finish to the season could still lie ahead in Qatar.
'I knew the prep for Roth took a toll on my bike power and I wasn't like, as punchy as I wanted to be, and It really showcased in T100 in San Fran and Singapore, where I really lost a ridiculous amount of time on the bike. And after Roth we changed a few things, tweak the position a bit and, and I could like feel a bit more like myself. And definitely I wanted to see where I stand in the swim and bike with the guys here.'
'I've got two more years in me before I quit the world of triathlon, so. I wanna make them count and definitely want to grab the tape again at some point...'
