When Sam Laidlow claimed IRONMAN World Championship glory on home soil in Nice last year, it was a surprise to many.
The 25-year-old Frenchman had enjoyed a severely interrupted preparation for the big dance on the Cote d’Azur – including a bout of COVID just a few short weeks earlier.
But on that famous September day he produced the perfect race, dominating on the bike and then finishing off with a solid run to hold off two-time World Champion Patrick Lange and giant Dane Magnus Ditlev.
This year Laidlow will defend his title in Kona, returning to the course where he made his real breakthrough performance – that brilliant second to split Norwegian greats Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt in 2022. He does so off the back of a very different preparation.
Mark Allen on Sam Laidlow
Six-time Kona king Mark Allen has been impressed by the way Laidlow has navigated 2024 so far, and believes he will be a major threat to all on October 26.
He told TRI247: “I think Sam will be really hard to beat – just because he’s got that sort of f*** you I’m the best attitude, kind of thing. And he’s shown that he can race really well in Kona, he did that two years ago. And I’m sure he’s a better athlete and more fit than he was two years ago so he’ll be tough to beat.
“Looking at this year, in the past he’s had some inconsistencies – races that he was supposed to be in and he didn’t show up because of personal reasons or he got sick – all these little hiccups along the way. As far as I’ve seen, he hasn’t had any of those this year and so I think he’s gonna have a really good race because he’s been consistent.
“And looking at what he did in Ibiza, he looked fit. He didn’t win but so what, I’m sure he’s like 100% Kona because if he wins in Kona, he will be the first IRONMAN World Champion to win in Nice and Kona.”
Bike is great, but don’t forget the run
The perception in many areas was that Laidlow’s blistering bike leg in the mountains of the French Riviera was the deciding factor in the 2023 renewal. But Allen himself is not so sure.
“Sam Laidlow in 2022 set a course record on the bike, had it not been for Gustav Iden he would have been the IRONMAN World Champion. Obviously last year, incredible race in Nice, and a lot of people were saying he won the race on the bike, and I’ll actually counter that a little bit and I’ll say he won the race because he had a really solid marathon.
“Yes, he got ahead on the bike, but had he had a crappy marathon he would have been caught, Patrick would have caught him. He wasn’t invincible. But he had a good run, he had a really good run.”
Are we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
