Ambassador Profile
Name : Ognjen Stojanović
Profile : Ognjen Stojanović is a professional triathlete from Serbia. He started swimming in 1995 as a part of his recovery after a hip operation, and in 2005 started triathlon. He is now a multiple-time IRONMAN 70.3 and Challenge Family podium finisher.
Rides : 2026 racing setup: AER106 Disc, Precision C23 Disc, 2025 racing setup: Triflow C22 Disc, PrecisionX C22 Disc, training set on a TT bike: Turbo 78 Disc, racing & training set on a road bike: Turbo 65 Disc
Career Overview
Early Beginnings and Swimming (1995–2005)
Ognjen’s journey into sports began in 1995 as part of his recovery from hip surgery due to Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. Swimming and cycling were the only activities permitted during his rehabilitation. Choosing swimming, he spent nearly a decade as a competitive swimmer, winning numerous medals at National Championships and setting three national records in youth categories.
Transition to Triathlon and Junior Success (2005–2009)
In 2005, Ognjen transitioned to triathlon, fully committing to the endurance sport by 2006.
International Breakthrough (2010–2015)
After being coached by Prof. Dr. Franja Fratrić until 2010, Ognjen began working with Portuguese coach Sérgio Santos (Olympic silver medalist coach).
Dominance and "Ironman" Success (2016–2022)
Elite Long-Distance Results (2023–2025)
Specifications
Bike
Frame : Canyon Speedmax CFR
Bike Computer : Garmin Edge 130
Tires : Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR 28
Wheels
WHEEL-F : AER106d UD Paintless Disc 24H No Drain Holes No Access Holes 5 Years With Valve Cover Sticker
HUB-F : Light Bicycle Pace-Hub Black 12 / 100mm straight pull Center lock 24H Steel Bearings
SPOKE : Sapim CX Ray
NIPPLE : Sapim Aluminium Black
WHEEL-R : Precision-C23d 730 Hook UD Paintless Disc No Drain Holes With Valve Cover Sticker Presta
HUB-R : Light Bicycle SL Road Disc (for disc wheel) Black 12 / 142mm Center lock Ceramic Bearings 36T Shimano Road 11S
Interview with Ognjen Stojanović at Challenge Xiamen 2025
Q1: Hello Ognjen, can you introduce yourself first?
I'm Ognjen Stojanović, a professional triathlete from Serbia.
Q2: Did you do any special preparations in advance for this Challenge Xiamen 2025? Can you share them with us?
Yeah, sure. Challenge Xiamen was a big goal for me. For this season, it was my last race of the season. So, the last few months, I dedicated my training towards this race, and one more race I had two weeks ago.
Also, as a winner from last year, I really had a big motivation to try to repeat the success I had last year. The guy from Australia was stronger today, so I came second. But I'm pleased with my performance, because I had a good race. I gave everything I had, and he was just stronger today.
Q3: Can you tell us about any differences between 2024 and 2025 Challenge Xiamen?
That last year was the first edition of the race. It was my first long-distance race in China. Although I did many races before in the past in some other cities, in the short course world triathlon races, so I was familiar with the race in China.
I really like that atmosphere, the people. The organization is always at a very high level, and they always take care of us professional athletes, so I always like to return to China. Obviously, having won last year, it's been kept in very good memory for me. So, as I said, I really looked forward to coming again this year and trying to do my best. And also, as I mentioned, I think I also had a good race today, and I cannot complain. Two editions, one first place, one second place, so hopefully I will also come next year.
Q4: Can you tell us something more about triathlon and how you got into it?
Yeah, so I'm doing triathlons for twenty years. I started doing triathlons in 2005. Before that, I was a swimmer for ten years. So I started swimming in 1995 when I was five years old, and then, in 2005, I did a triathlon race for kids just for fun, and I really like the challenge.
So it was much different than just swimming. It was much more interesting for me, because there was biking involved. Running races are in nature outside. So when you see me in the pool, just doing there back, there back, you get bored a bit. But with the triathlon, you're swimming in the sea, riding on the road surrounding, sometimes in the forest, sometimes on the road. I think it's really different. You know, surrounding the environment, so I got like a new motivation in a new sport, so I immediately had some kind of success, which really motivated me. 20 years later, I'm still enjoying it, traveling the world doing the best races. Hopefully I have like 4 or 5 years in me to keep doing it professionally.
Q5: Okay, can you walk us through your typical week of training as a triathlete?
My typical week is usually from 25 to 30 hours of training, usually five swimming trainings, five bike trainings, and six run trainings. Also, there are a few trainings for exercises and stability of the core and back. Triathlon really takes a lot of time. Compared to other sports, I think it's one of the sports where you need to train for more hours. So you really need to be dedicated, and sometimes it's hard.
You know, I have a family. I have two kids, so it's really hard to manage. Also, private life, but thankfully, I have big support from my family, and they're my motivation to keep doing it and to try to win every race. I think you need to be really professional, but I love it. I still enjoy it. I really enjoy racing and training. And until I have that kind of enjoyment doing my job, I think I can perform well.
Q6: Triathlon training can be demanding. How do you prevent fatigue and burnout?
Yeah, fatigue and burnout - that's maybe one of the biggest challenges. I have a lot of friends and ex-triathletes who, after some years of training at the top level, just couldn't enjoy it anymore. So they stopped doing it, because it was hard for their mind or their body.
But as I mentioned, I still enjoy it. I like to train outdoors, like my place trained at home. It's a national park forest, and a really nice road. And for me, personally, always motivation to be outside the outdoors, to do long rides, long runnings, is something that gives me some kind of energy. If I don't train, I don't feel myself. So, of course, I'm professional. I want to perform well, and I've trained to improve myself. But I also take big enjoyment in just doing the work I need. Of course, sometimes it's really hard. Sometimes you need to push, because obviously the level is very high. But I think the answer to that question is that you really need to love your job to be able to survive for many years. I think that's the main thing.
Q7: 2025 was a great season for you. Can you share some highlights with us? Which race was the most enjoyable and which one was the toughest for you?
2025 was really a good year. I had some bad races, some bad luck. It was a bit more challenging than last year, but I had four podiums in challenge races. Two third places, two second places, and also had second place on the European championships in the middle-distance race in Spain. So in total, five podiums on international races and also two podiums in local races running in Serbia and Macedonia. So in total, seven podiums, so I cannot complain even, because the level is so high every year. There are new guys coming, younger guys. Every year, it's harder to get on the podium, so in any podium sport, you need to be grateful and to enjoy it. But of course, if coming second or third still motivates me to become again and try to win the next year.
Q8: It's our honor to have you as our ambassador. How is your experience with our Light Bicycle wheels?
I'm really proud to represent Light Bicycle wheels. We started collaborating this year. I got to meet the wheels last year and had the expo here. When I was in Xiamen, I really liked the technology, and I also started exploring. Spoke with the people who ride it and got all the good reviews, and got good feedback from the people who tried it. I was really happy that you guys wanted to start working with me.
And to be honest, now, after half a year of training and racing on them, I'm pretty happy. You know, training wheels are amazing. Also, the racing wheels, like the triflow front wheel, the disk rear, with this specific shape, I think it's really fast. I did some tests, and it's a faster setup than I had on my previous wheelset. So, hopefully, in the next year, we can continue working together and keep improving with something better, also, the front and rear wheels. Because in this sport, one thing is to have strong legs, but also another important thing is aerodynamics. So we obviously need to push boundaries in aerodynamics and try to get faster with the same kind of power in the legs.
Q9: Do you have any advice for young people starting triathlon now?
I think the advice would be that you really need to find your purpose in the sport and to enjoy, to try to have some kind of internal motivation. Because if you have just external motivation like medals, podiums, or money, I think that cannot last long.
You need to have some really deep passion for the sport. You need to have some really deep passion for the sport. I think that's the only way to be able to put enough work you need to do. Because triathlon is a hard sport, you need to train maybe for 5, 10, 15 years until you can reach your potential and start getting results for the job you put into. So it's hard mentally but I think as I said that if you find enjoyment in it, in the process, sooner or later, you'll get the results you desire.
Q10: For friends who want to build a triathlon bike, what factors should be considered when choosing wheelset configuration? Do you have any recommendations for the bike?
I think the bike trend in aerodynamics is pretty obvious over the last few years. Wheels are probably more important than the frame. A big misconception is that they think the bike, like a frame, is important. It is, but not like a wheel. So if you have like a deeper front wheel and, of course, a disc wheel at the back, or like AER180, which is 180 mm deep, you can really improve your performance, because you can get 10 to 20 free watts without problems compared to shallow wheels.
Also, another thing is also a right choice of tires. So to put the fast tires to the correct pressure, so all the system, wheels plus tires. It's really important. You need to be aware of the conditions of the course. If there is more wind or not, like the Triflow front wheel, it is really good on the side winds. So when there is a lot of wind, because they are aerodynamic and also stable, because you can save more in the aero bars, so I think this combination is really an all-around combination and I would recommend it even for age groupers Also, it's really fast option.
Q11: OK, last question is looking into the 2026 season, what are your plans and goals? Would you want to try AER180?
Yeah, 2026, it's a big year. I looked into 2025 as a step up here for the next year. A little step back to be able to go a step forward. Next year Kona is gonna return for the main race. Because this year was Nice, so next year it's Kona. So my long-term goal was always to try to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona next October. So I will probably do Iron Texas in April, where there are six slots for Kona, so the big goal is to try to get on the starting line in Kona. You know, that's the big goal.
If I qualify for Kona, which is a big goal. Then I will use AER180. Because the full disk is not allowed in Kona, and I mean AER180 is almost like this. It's almost like a disk, where it's almost as fast, so I think it's a good way to get a bit around the rules. I think it was really good. I think it was a really good decision from your brand to make it. I think it can help a lot of professionals and age-groupers. Thank you very much.
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June 1st, 2026 | Light Bicycle
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