Sam Laidlow’s Shows His Maturity (and Tech Savvy) During Kona Lead Up

Of all of the pre-race favourites heading into Saturday’s race, Sam Laidlow has earned the right to arrive with a certain degree of confidence. His 2026 season kicked off with a bang thanks to a course-record-shattering 8:03 performance at IRONMAN Lanzarote.

Renowned as the toughest IRONMAN race on the circuit, Laidlow’s dominating performance saw him set a new bike course record along with the overall record. It sent a clear signal to Laidlow’s competition that the Frenchman was in form and a man to be reckoned with this year.

If Lanzarote sent a signal, Laidlow’s performance in Roth amplified that. A huge win over Kristian Blummenfelt in a world-best time of 7:21:04 set the stage for the strategy that he’d need to win on the Big Island – ride away from the Norwegian, then hang tough through the marathon.

Laidlow’s performance in Roth couldn’t have been more exciting for his bike sponsor, Canyon – the company had just announced it’s new Speedmax CFR, equipped with a new aero cockpit, that helped Laidlow to a speedy bike split.

Canyon hosted Laidlow at a press conference yesterday, where the 27-year-old appeared relaxed and at ease just days before Saturday’s big race.

During the Q and A session Laidlow announced that he would be donating his prize money from this weekend to “23 for the Future” – an initiative where he’s looking to help 23 athletes aged 10 to 16. He’s guaranteeing at least 23,000 Euros to the initiative, even if he doesn’t win that much prize money.

During the session Laidlow was quite forthright about his early days in the pro ranks, where he was often outspoken. He said that the goal was to get himself noticed, and mentioned that he had warned his parents that they “were going to hear a lot of things that weren’t me.”

It wasn’t long, though, before Laidlow’s performances were enough to garner him lots of attention. His runner-up finish at the IRONMAN World Championship in 2022 was followed by the win at the inaugural men’s only race in Nice a year later.

In 2024, though, Laidlow suffered through the day and would end up spending hours in the medical tent. He now attributes the sickness he dealt with through the early part of 2025 to that effort.

Since he’s come back from that challenge, Laidlow has shown a maturity and calmness that belies his years. That was certainly on notice yesterday. Is that enough, though, to hold off the likes of Blummenfelt and Iden (to name just two of the many men with viable dreams of a podium finish here in Kona).

Laidlow was quite clear that he has no intentions of “working with Marten (Van Riel),” as many have predicted, to ride clear of the rest of the field. He feels confident that that would be a bad move for the Belgian, but if they were together starting the run, Laidlow feels confident he would be stronger on the run.

It all seemed like a man who’s confident, prepared and ready for a big day here on the Big Island.

Gear Changes

We specifically asked Laidlow about a couple of tweaks he’s made on the gear front this year. He’s moved up a size on the new Speedmax.

“Size-wise, I was between an L and XL, and I did some testing on both,” he said. “The XL was slightly faster at higher yaw angles, and, with Kona in mind and the winds here, it made more sense for me to go with the XL.”

Laidlow was also very involved in the development of Ekoi’s new aero helmet.

“Me and Luca (from Ekoi) worked on it quite a lot,” he said. “We already had a very fast helmet, but I think for us it was important to have a helmet that was fast in a very aggressive position when your head’s down. But, also when you’re out of the (aero tuck) a higher head and more relaxed position, which makes it a very good helmet both for pros and age groupers. We’re super confident that it’s the fastest for me, but also for 90% of people.”

Here are a few shots of the bike Laidlow will be riding on Saturday:

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