Andy Devaney
In Nice, at the 2025 Triathlon World Championships, Sam Laidlow once again turned a brutal bike course into his personal playground. The Frenchman didn’t just ride the famed Canyon Speedmax—he made the thing look like a guided missile, proving that both man and machine remain the benchmark in long-distance triathlon.
Laidlow, the 2023 Ironman World Champion, repeated his party trick from last year’s Kona showdown by storming the bike leg with a blistering time of 4 hours, 29 minutes, and 29 seconds.
Over a hilly 2,427-metre climb that would make most of us weep into our handlebars, he averaged an astonishing 40.13 km/h (24.94 mph). When the dust—or more accurately, sweat—settled, he had rolled into transition 48 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
And that wasn’t the only victory for Canyon. According to a survey by Slowtwitch, nearly a quarter of the field—502 out of 2,199 competitors—rode the Speedmax.
While Canyon’s men didn’t manage to notch a third consecutive world title this year, the numbers tell their own story: the Speedmax wasn’t just the fastest bike out there, it was the most popular.
So, once again, Sam Laidlow has done what Sam Laidlow does best—set the standard. He showcased the top-of-the-line Canyon Factory Racing (CFR) version of the Speedmax, but the bike’s dominance isn’t limited to pros.
With six Ironman victories and a growing reputation as the go-to triathlon weapon, the Speedmax has become a symbol of what Canyon likes to call its “democratised performance philosophy.”
Translation? You don’t need to be Sam Laidlow to feel like him—though good luck keeping up.
