With the Olympics in full swing (OK, maybe not the triathlon at the Olympics, but everything else), the world’s attention wasn’t exactly glued to what was happening in London last weekend, but those who were there or watching the live coverage were treated to an exciting race. Defending Ironman world champion Sam Laidlow bounced back from his full-distance training day a couple of weeks before (the Frenchman was disqualified for not stopping at the penalty tent after receiving a drafting penalty, but still finished the race in second) for an impressive win.
In fact, Laidlow’s race looked eerily similar to the one he put together in Nice last year. Despite not wearing a wetsuit, he stayed close enough in the swim to start the bike near the leaders. It then didn’t take long before he took control of the race, riding away from the rest of the field. He then gave up a bit of his lead early in the run, but was able to remain tough and cruise through to his first PTO win.
So, while you’re waiting for your Olympic hit, we offer up some photos as a way to recap Sunday’s racing in London.
T100 London Men’s raceAaron Royle quickly took control of the swimTwo-time Olympic gold medalist Allistair Brownlee was second out of the water through the halfway point of the race, 8 seconds behind Royle.Brownlee’s race would take a sour turn early on in the bike thanks to a flat tire.Sam Laidlow would make his move on the bike at about 20 km, stretching the rest of the field before pulling away. He would hit T2 with a 90 second lead.Ben Kanute would also flat … he would end up not finishing the race, though.Germany’s Frederic Funk powered through the bike to lead the rest of the chasers into T2.Laidlow paced his run perfectly, holding off a challenge from …Kyle Smith, who gained almost 30 seconds in the first lap and got the gap to 22 seconds, but couldn’t get any closer to the reigning Ironman world champ.Brownlee would get himself nearer to the front by the end of the bike, then found himself in a duel with Pieter Heemeryck on the run.Both men were using all the water they could find to try and keep cool in the hot conditions.Heemeryck would catch reigning 70.3 world champ Rico Bogen and finish fifth, but the German would hang on for sixth ahead of Brownlee.The two Sam’s – Long on the left, Laidlow on the right – would run together for a bit, but Long was a full lap behind.You’d never believe it, though, as he celebrated with the crowd heading into his final lap.Laidlow literally roared after he crossed the line.Smith welcomed Daniel Baekkegard at the finish line.
