French triathlon star Sam Laidlow made history on July 5, 2026 at DATEV Challenge Roth, successfully defending his title and claiming the first victory for Canyon’s new unreleased Speedmax CFR bike. In doing so, he broke the world long-distance triathlon record with a finishing time of 7:21:04.
The event, which was organised by Team Challenge, saw a new spectator record with 300,000 triathlon fans reportedly lining the course. The pro athlete race provided a testing ground for the new bike from German manufacturer Canyon, which officially launches in a few days on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
The event in southern Germany began with DATEV Challenge Roth debutant Rico Bogen taking control in the water, leading a group of four athletes that included Laidlow and fellow Canyon rider Jonas Schomburg. Bogen was first out of the water, clocking 46 minutes 54 seconds for the 3.8km swim. A slower transition followed, meaning he started the 180km bike leg alongside Laidlow.
As a middle-distance specialist stepping up to the full distance for the first time, Bogen proved to be a major contender. He broke the bike course record by three minutes, recording a time of 3:54:45.
Bogen’s ride was supported by the new Speedmax CFR. According to Canyon, the bike features an aerodynamic concept covering the cockpit, fuelling, fitting and the frame.
A new fuelling module in the cockpit is designed to save 7 watts in aerodynamic performance compared to previous custom setups, whilst shielded extension bars offer an additional 3 watts of savings, both measured at 45km/h. The frameset also features a 250g weight reduction.
Canyon adds that the new bike offers pro sport technology for all, allowing any customer to find their optimum aero position straight out of the box.
With their strong performances on the bike leg, Laidlow and Bogen entered the second transition neck–and–neck. They held a 12-minute advantage over Kristian Blummenfelt.
That buffer proved sufficient for Laidlow, who held on through the marathon to finish in 7:21:04. This time was exactly 20 seconds faster than the previous world record over the 3.8km–180km–42.2km distance, which was set by Blummenfelt at IRONMAN Texas in April 2026. Blummenfelt finished second in his Roth debut with a time of 7:26:24.
Sam Laidlow, Challenge Roth 2026 winner said “For my first competitive race on the new Speedmax this is an incredible result. I knew the set-up felt faster and was optimized perfectly for me, but until this point I didn’t know how much of a difference that would make over 180 km.
“Today we answered that question. I took eight minutes off the bike split versus last year and, with the bike’s watt savings, I still had plenty of gas in the tank for the overall record.”
The distance eventually impacted Bogen during the marathon course, and he secured third place on his debut with a time of 7:27:53.
Rico Bogen said “The atmosphere was even more incredible than I’d heard. On the Solarer Berg, I thought I’d lost my hearing.”
Solarer Berg near Hilpoltstein remains a prominent highlight of the event where significant numbers of spectators gather to cheer on all participating athletes.
Other results in the men’s pro field included Jonas Schomburg finishing fifth in 7:32:17, followed by three-time Roth winner Magnus Ditlev in sixth with 7:34:21, and Frederic Funk in seventh with 7:38:14. Three-time Hawaii winner Patrick Lange finished ninth in 7:41:27.
In the women’s field, Swiss athlete Alanis Siffert won the title in 8:09:09, improving her previous year’s time by more than 30 minutes to become the youngest-ever Challenge Roth winner.
Reigning IRONMAN World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay finished in second place after losing time in both transition zones, having only confirmed her participation on Monday of race week. British athlete and European Triathlon Champion Daisy Davis secured third place in 8:27:19.
Canyon athletes Kat Matthews and Caroline Pohle also debuted the new Speedmax CFR in the women’s race, securing fourth and fifth-place finishes with times of 8:31:35 and 8:32:49 respectively.
www.canycon.com
www.challenge-roth.com
