PTO World #16 Sam Laidlow upset the status quo to take a first win over the 100km distance at the London T100, as the 25-year-old Frenchman clinched the tape for the first time since his world title in Nice last year.
After a poor swim, he worked his way up to the front of the race on the bike, and with a 90 second buffer over in-form Kyle Smith on the run, held strong to take a second successive win in the British capital.
In third, Daniel Baekkegard drew a line in the sand after a tough start to the season, and finished on his first podium in nine months and cracked the T100 Tour Top 3 for the first time in his career.
Swim – Royle sets the pace
Aaron Royle made it look easy at the front of the race in the swim, with the Olympian enjoying a +0:07 buffer over Alistair Brownlee, Rico Bogen and Kyle Smith after the first lap of 1000m.
Through the Aussie Exit, the Top 15 were within 20 seconds of the front of the race, with several of the pre-race favourites, such as Max Neumann, Magnus Ditlev and Youri Keulen, all in contention.
Over the second half of the swim, Royle allowed the lead pack to swim back up to him, and came out of the water with Brownlee and Bogen right on his feet, and the rest of the Top 10 within 20 seconds.
Surprisingly, IRONMAN World Champion Laidlow was +1:10 down out of the water, back in 18th. Leon Chevalier, in 19th, and Sam Long, at the back of the field in 20th, were more than three minutes in arrears and left themselves with plenty of work to do on the bike and run.
Bike – Laidlow powers through the field
Over the early stages of the eight lap bike course, there was plenty of jostling for position at the front of the race, with a big group of athletes setting a hot early pace.
On the second lap, Danish star Ditlev, who won the first race of the season at the Miami T100, passed Smith to move into the lead, but after 20km of the bike, the gaps had still not grown substantially, with only half a minute between first and 15th.
As Laidlow started to move through the field and see his fortunes turn, Brownlee was on the receiving end of some bad luck, with the Yorkshireman suffering a bike mechanical, which eventually saw him lose two minutes to the front.
With the two-time Olympic champion dropping back, Laidlow made this way to the front of the race and started to open up a small gap over Ditlev, and when the three-time Challenge Roth champion didn’t respond, Laidlow took the opportunity to attack.
Ramping up the intensity, the Frenchman was building his lead by 5-10 seconds per lap, with the chase pack, led by Funk and also featuring Ditlev, Bogen, Smith, Keulen, Neumann, Gregory Barnaby and Daniel Baekkegard, falling behind.
Coming into transition, Laidlow, who won Challenge London here last year, had a +1:33 advantage over Funk in second, with the rest of the chasers within a handful of seconds of the German in T2.
Brownlee, who finished the bike in 11th, just behind Belgian Pieter Heemeryck, started the run +4:53 from the front, with just over three minutes to Funk and co in the chase pack.
Long was +10:23 down, just ahead of his compatriot Jason West, whose nightmare season continues as he started the run +13:08 back. The American contingent, also featuring Ben Kanute, who was a DNF, and Rudy von Berg, +9:00 down off the bike, were having a day to forget in London.
Run – Laidlow holds strong
Immediately, Smith set out in pursuit of Laidlow, and within five minutes of running, had dropped the rest of the chasers and moved within +1:07 of Laidlow, who was still looking strong up front.
As Smith continued to make up ground, Baekeggard moved up into third, with an enthralling battle for the last spot on the podium unfolding between himself and Funk, Bogen and Ditlev. Bogen, however, did have a 30 second penalty to serve.
At the halfway mark, there was no change up front, with Laidlow looking strong and maintaining a +0:34 gap over Smith with 9km of running left in the race, and Baekkegard consolidating his position in third.
Heading into the last lap, with both Laidlow and Smith’s expressions reduced to a grimace, the Frenchman had three kilometres separating him from a first T100 Tour win, with a buffer of +0:22 over the Kiwi.
In what was a thrilling finale, Laidlow just had enough to hold on, and in an emotional finish, took his first win since his IRONMAN World Championship victory and recorded his best ever result over the 100km distance.
In second, Smith again finished as the runner-up after missing out in a sprint finish in San Francisco last month, with Baekeggard putting together his best performance of the season with a brilliant third place finish.
T100 London Results – Pro Men
Sunday July 28 2024 – 2km/80km/18km
- 1. Sam Laidlow (FRA) – 3:13:38 [24:06/1:46:42/1:01:01]
- 2. Kyle Smith (NZL) – 3:14:08 [23:05/1:49:20/59:53]
- 3. Daniel Baekkegard (DEN) – 3:16:41 [23:08/1:49:28/1:02:06]
- 4. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) – 3:17:41 [23:16/1:4906/1:03:21]
- 5. Frederic Funk (GER) – 3:17:53 [23:31/1:48:42/1:03:38]
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