Despite a world record in the full distance just three weeks ago, Danish triathlete Magnus Ditlev showed his incredible consistency again today, finishing 4th in T100 London. This result sends him to the top of the overall standings in the T100 Triathlon World Tour after three counting races in the overall standings—halfway through the series, with four races remaining, including the Grand Final. The distance covers 2 km of swimming, 80 km of cycling, and 18 km of running: a total of 100 km.

With a 1st place in Miami, a 4th place in San Francisco, and a 4th place here in London, Magnus now has 79 points, just ahead of New Zealand's Kyle Smith, who has 76 points, and Sam Long, who already had three counting races and 70 points, but did not improve his overall score with an 11th place finish today.

The winner was defending IRONMAN World Champion Sam Laidlow, who broke away halfway through the 80 km cycling leg and held off a fast-running Kyle Smith during the final 18 km run.

Dane Daniel Bækkegård secured an impressive 3rd place and took his first podium in the 100 km distance, while Magnus Ditlev, with a hard-fought 4th place on a day when he felt far from his best, now leads the overall World Championship series in the middle distance—despite focusing primarily on the Ironman distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km cycling, and 42.2 km run).

At the same time as his current first place in the T100 Triathlon World Tour standings, Magnus Ditlev, with his consistently strong performances and multiple major victories, also currently holds the top spot on the PTO world rankings for middle- and long-distance triathletes.

"I was completely off from the start, and it was a big mental battle today. I felt like quitting all day, but I’m glad I kept fighting, even though my body wasn’t cooperating, so finishing 4th is a good result on the day. It was just a tough day all around, so there’s probably some deep fatigue left from Roth because every time I tried to push, I got really tired and just couldn’t get into gear," Magnus Ditlev said, who, after a few intense months, can now look forward to a couple of weeks of vacation and recovery.

After an incredible first half of the season, which brought his first victory at the 100 km distance, his third consecutive win and a new world record at Challenge Roth, a first place on the world rankings, and a first place in the World Championship series, the 26-year-old triathlete can now take a well-deserved break before starting preparations for the season’s big goal, the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii.

With his best swimming performance ever at the 100 km distance, where Ditlev emerged from the water with the leading group in 8th place, the stage was set for another Ditlev show on the bike. However, with a large leading group and a very tight and technical 10 km out-and-back cycling course, it was difficult to exploit his strong cycling abilities because the large group was riding very (and often too) close together—something that frustrated the tall Dane, with cycling being one of his key strengths.

At the same time, his legs were not responding well, so Magnus remained in the chase group for the last 40 km of the bike after briefly taking the lead and entered T2 in 5th place.

From there, it was a question of how his running legs would hold up, but unfortunately, they were heavy, and a good rhythm never materialized. Magnus remained stable and in contention around 5th place throughout the entire run, but he was never able to pick up the pace, which is understandable given the world record performance he had in his legs just three weeks ago.

Magnus kept a cool head in the British summer heat, and when Kyle Smith couldn’t catch Laidlow at the front, Magnus was able to settle for 5th place and still take the lead in the World Championship standings. Magnus ran the final third of the race with Germany’s Frederik Funk, whom he managed to outpace in the last few hundred meters and secure his second consecutive 4th place in the series—and thus, first place in the World Championship standings.

1. Magnus Ditlev, Denmark, 79 points (3 races, 35+22+22)
   
2. Kyle Smith, New Zealand, 76 points (3 races, 20+28+28)
   
3. Sam Long, USA, 70 points (3 races, 28+28+14)
   
4. Youri Keulen, Netherlands, 69 points (3 races, 22+35+12)
   
5. Pieter Heemeryck, Belgium, 54 points (3 races, 25+11+18)