Magnus Ditlev wins T100 Miami scorcher
American Sam Long bikes and runs through the field for impressive runner-up finish
Photo by:
Professional Triathletes Organisation
It was a day of attrition at Homestead Miami Speedway today as the men kicked off the first race of the T100 Triathlon World Tour. In the end the top-ranked man in the field – Magnus Ditlev – would live up to his ranking as he paced his way to the win.
Ditlev found himself chasing two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee, who raced at the front for most of the day, only to fade dramatically in the final few laps of the race.
Brownlee was amongst the leaders out of the water, then trailed Mathis Margirier through the bike before quickly taking the lead early on the run. The British double Olympic gold medalist, as is his usual racing style, quickly surged to the front of the race and appeared to be on track to add another milestone to his impressive resume – the first athlete to win a T100 Triathlon World Tour event.
Ditlev surged past the Brit with a few kilometres to go.
“When I arrived here in Miami I felt really bad throughout the week training here,” Ditlev said in an interview after the race. “So we made a super conservative plan for heat and cooling and so on … I was right below the limit. Towards the end of the run I was able to reel in Alistair [Brownlee] and push a bit more. I was super controlled and just below the limit, to deal with the heat.”
With temperatures in the 80s Fahrenheit (27 C) with high humidity, many athletes suffered through the day – six of the 20 men in the field would pull out of the race due to the heat.
Long charges to second
While many of the early leaders would fade on the bike and run, American Sam Long, one of the last of the pro men out of the water, would surge through the field. Long would trail a group of four that included Margirier, Brownlee, Nice champion Sam Laidlow and Ditlev by about three minutes at the end of the bike.
In the end Long would catch all but Ditlev to take an impressive second. Margirier hung on for third, with Youri Keulen also getting passed Brownlee for fourth.
- Magnus Ditlev (DEN) – 3:09:08 [24:28/1:41:45/1:00:55]
- Sam Long (USA) – 3:09:43 [26:55/1:42:10/58:44]
- Mathis Margirier (FRA) – 3:10:08 [23:44/1:42:30/1:01:59]
- Youri Keulen (NED) – 3:10:47 [23:45/1:45:01/1:00:12]
- Alistair Brownlee (GBR) – 3:11:43 [32:39/1:42:39/1:03:38]
Stay tuned for more from Miami.
