Selena Samuela Triathlon Goal Faces Its First Real Test

The Peloton instructor races an Olympic-distance event this weekend, treating it as a checkpoint 13 weeks before her Ironman 70.3.

Selena Samuela is racing this weekend, but it is not the race that she’s been talking about (yet). The Peloton running and strength instructor is thirteen weeks out from her planned Ironman 70.3, and her build now includes an Olympic-distance event serving as a checkpoint on the discipline she is still developing: cycling.

Samuela shared the update on Instagram, pairing a countdown graphic reading “13 weeks to 70.3” with a note about her upcoming race. The post tagged USA Triathlon, so based on the timing and logistics, the race is most likely the TOUGHMAN Westchester Olympic Triathlon, scheduled for Sunday, September 20, in Rye, New York. This event will offer an Olympic-distance triathlon under USA Triathlon sanctioning, which lines up with this latest Selena Samuela triathlon training update.

Selena Samuela Triathlon Training is Built Around the Bike

Samuela has been open about cycling being the piece of her triathlon puzzle that needs the most work. She built her reputation on the Tread and in the strength studio, not on two wheels (or one, aka the Peloton Bike), and her training posts this week reflected that focus.

After a recent ride, she broke down three takeaways: she prefers clipping into her left pedal first but feels faster and more confident clipping in on the right while already moving, she clips out on her right side first, and she likes climbing far more than descending. Downhill, she said plainly, is scary. Uphill, she does not mind the burn. It’s interesting to note that Matt Wilpers recently commented during one of his rides that learning to control the descent is an important skill to cultivate in outdoor riding.

Bike handling and pedal mechanics are exactly the kind of small, repeatable skills that separate a shaky transition from a smooth one, and they matter more at Ironman 70.3 distance than at a sprint. The Selena Samuela triathlon goal has always hinged on the bike being the bridge between where she is now and where she wants to be, and racing an Olympic distance this weekend gives her a real test of that bridge under race conditions rather than in training alone.

A Selena Samuela Triathlon Goal Years in the Making

This is not Samuela’s first attempt at Ironman distance. She announced a July 2023 Ironman only months after giving birth to her son Torin, then withdrew after pushing her recovery too hard, too fast. This time, after welcoming twin daughters Stella and Frankie in December 2025, she has built her return more deliberately, including earning a pre and postnatal fitness certification that she credits with shaping how she has approached training postpartum. She has also continued sharing the physical side of that recovery directly with members, including recent deep core work targeting postpartum rib flare.

The same time as her ride breakdown (or at least in the same outfit), Samuela posted a run loved despite forgetting her sunglasses, a small sign that the training load is not just building fitness but building back some of the enjoyment that got interrupted by pregnancy. With an Olympic-distance test this weekend and roughly three months of build remaining, the Selena Samuela triathlon story now has a real data point behind it.

Have you trained for a tri beofre? What’s you strongest or weakest event?

The Clip Out is an independent Peloton news site with reporting, analysis, and community insights. We deliver breaking updates, feature reporting, and expert context on the stories driving the community and the industry.

Our weekly podcast offers deeper conversation and perspective, and you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TuneIn, and YouTube Music. You can also follow us on our socials on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and YouTube.

See something in the Peloton universe that you think we should know? Visit us at theclipout.com and submit a tip.