PREVIEW: CANYON MEDAL PROSPECTS AT MEN’S TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

After Sam Laidlow and Patrick Lange won World Championship titles on Canyon’s Speedmax CFR in 2023 and 2024, the main question for Canyon this weekend is whether its Speedmax will repeat the feat on the French Rivera to make it three-in-a-row.

The odds look good. Canyon’s three-time defending champion Patrick Lange will be one of the favourites in Nice. Last year the German set a new course record with a time of 7h 35m 53s, almost 8 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

However, home favourite and 2023 champion Sam Laidlow will be giving him a run for his money. The British-born Laidlow races under a French flag and is sure to be motivated by an enthusiastic crowd. He was the last man to win the World title on the Nice course and in doing so he became the youngest man to ever win the title. He followed that record-breaking pattern in Kona last year by becoming the first athlete to go under 4 hours for the 112 mile bike leg.

Completing the trio of riders representing Canyon this year is Denmark’s Daniel Baekkegard. The former elite swimmer has been competing professionally in triathlon since 2019 securing three Ironman 70.3 titles along the way. Now 29, he’s fully made the switched to full-distance triathlon and, along with a new coach, he’s set his sights on the Ironman World Championships in Nice.

Laidlow, Lange and Baekkegard all compete on Canyon’s Speedmax CFR, a bike that has won the World Championship title an incredible six times.

The Speedmax CFR offers a bike designed to be an aerodynamic masterpiece. Every millimetre of the Speedmax frame and cockpit has been meticulously simulated and sculpted using supercomputer and wind tunnel technology to deliver aerodynamics worthy of championship winning performance.

While each rider uses different components, their frames are all designed to get into the fastest and most comfortable position possible, with full-carbon monocoque cockpits that optimise head, helmet and shoulder interaction, while still giving steering control to navigate the tricky, technical course in Nice.

For updates live from Nice, tune into the Canyon Road Instagram channel here.

1. All images free to use, credit: Canyon Bicycles 2025