Sam Laidlow produced a dominant performance in London to win the fourth race of the T100 Triathlon World Tour in London, in front of 5,000 fans at the ExCeL centre, as Alistair Brownlee placed eighth.
Despite fans willing Brownlee on in East London 12 years on from his Olympic glory, it was the English-born Frenchman who took the crown in Docklands in his first T100 win.
A hard-fought run from New Zealander Kyle Smith was almost enough to chase Laidlow down as he finished just 25 seconds adrift, with Danish Daniel Baekkegard finishing third.
As the athletes lined up ready to dive into Royal Victoria Docks, the biggest cheer of the day came from the announcement of Brownlee to the starting line.
A strong swim from most of the 20 athletes saw just 23 seconds between the top 11, with eventual winner Laidlow 70 seconds off the pace.
The London 2012 gold medallist was leading the pack alongside Australian Aaron Royle at the end of the 2km swim, but a punctured tyre midway through the cycle marked the end of Brownlee’s podium hopes.
The early stages of the eight-lap bike course saw a battle for top spot with a solid front pack leading the way and world number one Magnus Ditlev showing once again his ability on the bike.
Laidlow, who ended the swim in 18th, soon upped the intensity and took the reins on the bike, drawing on his 2023 Ironman World Championship, and setting the pace for the rest of the race.
He dismounted the bike 90 seconds ahead of the pack, but what followed was a true battle of attrition on the 18km run.
Smith knew he had work to do to make up the gap on Laidlow, but his strongest suit soon became apparent as he began the chase from the off.
He shaved 20 seconds off the gap within five minutes of running and continued to chase down Laidlow for the best part of an hour.
Heading into the last lap of six, Smith had closed the gap to just 22 seconds, making for an epic finale.
Support for Laidlow was clear to see in a country which he also calls home, with all his friends and family out in force to support him.
As he recorded his best ever result over the 100km distance, the future of middle-distance racing looks promising for Laidlow.
Of the four T100 races in the eight-race series, we have seen four different winners in the men’s competition, demonstrating the strength of the field in this discipline.
With American Sam Long, who sat at the top of the overall standings before today’s race, finishing in 11th, the competition is wide open for the remaining four races ahead of November’s Grand Final.
Meanwhile, Scottish David McNamee placed 13th and triathlon fans will be delighted to see Australian Max Neumann back in action, after a mammoth 448 days away from the sport due to injury.
A fourth-placed finish for Danish Ditlev was enough to parachute him to the top of the leaderboard in the overall standings, while Smith takes second and Long drops to third.
The next T100 race of the series will be in Ibiza on 28-29 September.
The first London T100 Triathlon weekend on 27-28 July is entirely free for spectators and includes a dedicated T100 Watch Party venue at the ExCel London Exhibition Centre for the very first time. Where fans will be able to see the world’s best triathletes come past at least 10 times during the 100km race format (2km swim, 80km run, 18 km swim). As well as being able to follow them live, out on the course, thanks to a big screen.
Image: T100 World Series
