Former IRONMAN World Champions Sam Laidlow (FRA) and Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) sent out warnings to their rivals this season with ultra-impressive victories at IRONMAN Lanzarote.
The pair only needed to validate their tickets for Kona but they bossed their respective races from the gun.
Laidlow destroyed the men’s course record by nearly 20 minutes, with three-time Kona champ Patrick Lange chasing him home as he made sure of his own return to the Big Island.
And like Laidlow, Charles-Barclay led out the swim and was never headed in the race where it all started for her as a pro.
Women’s race – LCB a class apart
Lanzarote is not only Charles-Barclay’s training base but it was also the venue of her first pro race back in 2016 when she had a clear lead in the swim en route to third before recording her maiden full-distance victory a year later in a time of 9:35:39.
In what is one of the toughest full-distance races on the calendar she came in as defending champion this year but this was her first proper race of 2026 following tendon surgery at the start of the year.
That meant she was only able to focus on her already strongest discipline of the swim for several weeks and a 47:02 today beat her own best mark of 47:06 from 2017 – and would have been good enough for third in the men’s race.
Steph Clutterbuck (GBR) was second out of the water at +3:54, Molly Savill (GBR) was third at +3:57 and then Nina Derron (SUI) was fourth at +7:40
Derron would move up to second on the challenging bike course but all the while the gap to Charles-Barclay was going out.
It was 7:55 at halfway and just over 10 minutes by T2. Rebecca Anderbury (GBR) was third at +11:21, Clutterbuck fourth at +21:10 and Julia Skala (GER) fifth at 24:09.
Despite LCB saying she wouldn’t be pushing it on the run given her interrupted preparation, she continued to put daylight between herself and the rest.
So much so that she crossed the line in 9:15:39, more than 25 minutes clear of Derron.
Nikita Paskiewiez (FRA) at +31:56 and Anderbury at +36:38 in third and fourth respectively also gave themselves the option of taking Kona places.
Men’s race – Laidlow and Lange impress
The quirks of Kona qualifying meant that Laidlow, as the 2023 IRONMAN World Champion, has a five-year exemption, but 2024 winner Lange only had a one-year window so he still has to qualify for the 2026 edition.
But when the horn blew Laidlow wasn’t taking it easy – his 46:25 swim just 20 seconds off Luc Van Lierde’s record mark from 20 years ago.
Lange was nicely positioned in fourth at +1:07, with Niek Heldoorn (NED) and defending champion Dylan Magnien (FRA) in between them.
The bike section – as it so often is – was a Laidlow masterclass as he put his rivals to the sword.
He clocked a 4:27:52 split, more than seven minutes quicker than the course record, and that gave him an advantage of over 10 minutes on Damien le Mesnager (FRA).
Leon Chevalier (FRA) was over 15 minutes back in third while Lange was ninth at 18:38 back.
With three Kona places up for grabs (and Laidlow not taking one of them given he was validating) one of them looked well within Lange’s scope given his famed run prowess.
And so it proved as the German ran through the field and up to second.
Laidlow crossed the line in 8:03:40, an incredible time for Lanzarote where the previous best was 8:22:30 by his friend and training partner Arthur Horseau three years ago.
Lange bagged another record of his own thanks to his 2:33:43 marathon while Jordi Montraveta Moya (ESP) rounded out the podium in third and le Mesnager qualifed for the final Kona spot in fourth.
IRONMAN Lanzarote 2026 results
Saturday 23 May 2026 – 3.8km / 180km / 42.2km
PRO WOMEN
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Charles-Barclay | GBR | 47:02 | 5:21:05 | 3:01:13 | 9:15:39 |
| 2 | Nina Derron | SUI | 54:43 | 5:23:49 | 3:17:57 | 9:42:02 |
| 3 | Nikita Paskiewiez | FRA | 59:25 | 5:34:18 | 3:07:00 | 9:47:36 |
| 4 | Rebecca Anderbury | GBR | 57:46 | 5:21:13 | 3:25:04 | 9:52:18 |
| 5 | Marit Lindemann | GER | 1:04:41 | 5:34:57 | 3:09:52 | 9:56:52 |
PRO MEN
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Laidlow | FRA | 46:25 | 4:27:52 | 2:44:14 | 8:03:40 |
| 2 | Patrick Lange | GER | 47:33 | 4:45:03 | 2:33:43 | 8:12:29 |
| 3 | Jordi Montraveta Moya | ESP | 52:19 | 4:38:50 | 2:39:17 | 8:16:16 |
| 4 | Damien Le Mesnager | FRA | 51:22 | 4:33:03 | 2:48:49 | 8:18:36 |
| 5 | Michiel Stockman | BEL | 51:47 | 4:39:26 | 2:46:53 | 8:24:06 |
