Jonathan Turner

Sam Laidlow (FRA) defended his Challenge Roth title in thrilling and record-breaking fashion against arguably the strongest-ever men’s field, holding off a charging Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR). It was a bold tactical masterclass from Laidlow which set up the victory – he helped drive a five-man front group to a three-minute advantage over Blummenfelt and the rest in the swim.

Here’s what happened on the bike in the men’s race at Challenge Roth… The big news at T1 was the significant three-minute gap that a front five of Sam Laidlow (FRA), German trio Rico Bogen, Jonas Schomburg and Finn Große-Freese plus Menno Koolhaas (NED) had opened up. That quintet had worked brilliantly to distance pre-race favourite Kristian Blummefelt (NOR), who exited the water in sixth alongside Fred Funk (GER) – click here to read more about the swim.

Here’s what happened in the swim in the men’s race at Challenge Roth… The big – though not unexpected – news was that it was going to be a non-wetsuit swim, with the water temperature 25 degrees Celsius in the Danube-Main Canal. Conditions – in terms of a fast time – were otherwise ideal, with a pleasant overcast morning and virtually no breeze. The air temperature at the start at 0630 local time was 18C.