Coming into the race this weekend in Idaho, American Sam Long was the overwhelming favourite. Entering the event off the back of three consecutive middle distance wins, triathlon fans couldn’t wait to see what the “Big Unit” would produce over the full distance.

Unfortunately, however, things didn’t quite go to plan on race day for the PTO World #6, after multiple bike mechanicals eventually left him unable to finish.

Posting on social media after the race, the Colorado native shared his post-race thoughts and already seems excited to come back better and stronger.

“A challenging day for me”

Having come out of the water +4:37 off the leader with eventual winner Chris Leiferman, it looked to be just a matter of time before Long made it to the front. However, Long revealed after multiple punctures, his prospects of finishing the race quickly started to look bleak.

“A challenging day for me today that cut my day short after three flat tires. At the end of the day there is nothing I can do about it but find some positivity.

“Overall, I got almost everything I wanted to out of the race other than seeing what the end result would be and how my energy would be in the back half.

“I showed the best tactics yet, showed a great ability to reset and reframe things into a positive mindset, and validated my Ironman training plan and taper as I was feeling very good.”

Despite not getting the result he wanted, Long offered his congratulations to fellow American Leiferman on the win and to everyone else who took part in the race on Sunday.

“I want to give a big shout out to Chris Leiferman on a fantastic win. In fact, I want to give a big shoutout to all the incredible performances this weekend!”