There may be only a few World Tour-level professionals who can combine road racing and Ironman triathlons, but Cameron Waugh is proving that it is not only possible, it is possible enough.

The veteran of the Ineos Grenadiers occupied a respectable lead in the peloton last week on the UAE tour. At the same time, however, he was training for the Ironman in South Africa in early March, the Ironman in May and June, and this year's World Championships in Nice in September. [At the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii last October, Wolf finished 11th in a time just over 8 hours.

And this spring, Wolf's rapid progress continued. While the early-season races in the Middle East have been controversial among professional racers regarding the advantages and disadvantages to their power output, Wurf seems to have no problem getting the two preparations back on track.

"I'm not too worried about losing strength after this week. If the stages are a little quieter, like sitting in the wheels, I'll do a little more exercise before or after the stages," Wurf told Cycling News before stage 5.

"I went swimming this morning, so I was in the water for an hour. Then I had a climbing stage the other day (to Jebel Jaisse), which was pretty tough too."

"I think I ran the front for 100 kilometers by myself, and then I had a little help from one of the Quickstep guys for another hour before we started the climb. So it was a pretty solid day. After that I went for a run."

The team time trial on the second stage was another important training exercise for all the riders, and the gluttonous Wolff volunteered to go ahead of leader Luke Plapp on the Ineos Grenadiers line.

"The TTT was interesting. Someone had to bite into the lineup in front of Plappy.

"It looked like we were going nowhere, but I caught up with him a few times, pulled him a few times, and put him in a tailwind. Then I let Plappy take care of it and we almost got there (the win)."

Ironman is also part of his overall plan, and Wolff said he expects the full support of his team for it.

"I have several Ironmans planned. The South African Ironman is next weekend and we're hoping to do that, but obviously we have to get through the rest of the week unscathed.

"Apart from that, there's an Ironman in Lanzarote in May and an Ironman in Nice in June.

"The Ironman thing is for me, but the team is much bigger than me, so that is 100% my priority. I will do the best I can to get the best result possible."

With Ironman in mind, Wolff prefers one-day races, especially stage races rather than his specialty.

"If I go to a one-day race, I spend four days and my training rhythm is disrupted.

"But if I do a stage race, I can plan a little better, and ideally I'll be in the best shape going into September to win the world title."

Nevertheless, versatility is limited for any athlete, even a restless spirit like Wolfe, who last year competed in one high-profile gravel race, Unbound Gravel in June, but said it was mostly a one-off. He noted that the last gravel event was in 2015, adding that he has absolutely no plans to schedule more.

"I have too much respect for the level of racing with these guys and trying to compete with them," he explained.

"Ironman has moved to a whole new level since COVID and the level is incredibly high.

"If I had to do something, I would go back to rowing. If I went back to cycling, I might be able to compete in rowing again.