Nice world champ Sam Laidlow to race PTO T100 series, but still focused on defending Ironman world title in Kona
French star says season focus will be to take the win in Hawaii in October
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
In a video posted over the weekend (see below), Ironman world champion Sam Laidlow laid out his 2024 race plans. While he will be participating in the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) T100 World Triathlon Tour, his major goal for the season is to defend his title in Kona.
“I’ve made the decision to race on the PTO circuit, with the goal still being to go back to Kona and win there,” the Frenchman said. “That really is the dream.”
In 2022 Laidlow took second in Kona, finishing behind Norway’s Gustav Iden and ahead of Iden’s countryman Kristian Blummenfelt.
While he ended up winning in Nice, Laidlow feels that he can race at an even higher level on the Big Island in October.
“I feel I didn’t really get to show what I was capable of in Nice, even though I won,” he said. Â “I had a lot of mishaps leading up to it, and there was other periods in the year when I know I was stronger and I know I am capable of much better … and I know that Hawaii suits me much better.”
In the video, Laidlow says that as an athlete he tends to do better aiming to peak for one event in the year. As he prepares for the first race of the T100 series in Miami in March, he anticipates that he won’t be in top form.
The pressure is off for Sam Laidlow … now he’s ready to dominate
“Miami … (will be) difficult (as will) suit athletes from the southern hemisphere or people who keep a constant level (of fitness) all year.” he said. “For me it’s not about winning these initial PTOs, it’s about racing the best in the world and seeing where you’re at.”
After racing the T100 Miami race, Laidlow will compete at T100 Singapore, then compete at Ironman Vittoria in order to validate his Kona spot. (As the winner in Nice last year Laidlow gets an automatic spot for this year’s world championship in Kona, but must do either two Ironman 70.3 races or one Ironman event to validate his entry.) A couple of weeks after the Ironman event in Spain, Laidlow will compete at PTO London, then put in a 10-week block of training before heading to PTO Ibiza at the end of September, He’ll go from there to spend a month in Kona preparing for the Ironman World Championship. Laidlow will round out his season with the final two T100 races in Bahrain and the Grand Final, which hasn’t been announced but will be in the Middle East, according to the PTO.
