Challenge Roth hero Sam Laidlow thought he was in front for HOURS before taking lead

Men’s winner Sam Laidlow revealed that he thought he was in first place at Challenge Roth long before he actually moved into the lead.

The Frenchman produced a magical performance on what was his first race since his epic implosion at the IRONMAN World Championship last October.

He was in the front pack on the swim and then moved into second on the bike, eventually reaching T2 50 seconds behind Jonas Schomburg.

The gap went out to over three minutes in the early part of the run before he started to reel in Schomburg, overtaking him just before the 30km mark en route to a memorable success.

‘Super confusing’

That was what actually happened – but it played out a little differently in Laidlow’s head as he explained to Fenella Langridge in his finish-line interview!

The 2023 IRONMAN World Champion said: “It was actually a really, really confusing race because the whole day on the bike, I actually thought that I was first and [that] people were giving me splits [back] to Jonas, and they were getting smaller and smaller, and I was like, oh, Jonas is catching me.

“And so I was slowing down, thinking that I would work with Jonas, and the more I’d slow down, obviously, the more I wouldn’t catch him.

“Then… I saw him at a turnaround on the run and I was like, did he just cut the course or something?

“I didn’t understand. I thought he [was] two minutes behind, so it was super confusing.”

Team effort

At least from that point onwards Laidlow had a clear idea of the picture and he added: “Then I just had to do my own race. I didn’t feel great at the start of the run but I just focused on my own performance and doing everything I can, and it was just enough. But I really had to dig very, very deep.”

The win clearly meant a huge amount to Laidlow after a difficult year where he’s had to battle various issues to try and get back to full fitness, with his training time severely limited.

And he dedicated it to the team behind him, which is headed by his Dad, Richard, who coaches him.

Sam added: “I really want to dedicate this one to the people around me. I was going to pull out of this race about four weeks ago, and my team kept believing. And I think I’m not necessarily the best athlete, but I have the best team.”