Triathlon rivalry erupts at Collins Cup as Long storms off after Laidlow clash

American Sam Long slammed triathlon nemesis Sam Laidlow for being disrespectful and said he was «p****d off» after Team Europe's young upstart continued their war of words at the Collins Cup. Long, Laidlow and Canadian legend Lionel Sanders of Team International will face off in Match 8 of triathlon's version of golf's Ryder Cup on Saturday in Slovakia, with the Team US star visibly unimpressed with the draw at Thursday's opening ceremony.

Ad Bedfordshire-born French triathlete Laidlow, 23, has been turning up the heat on social media since his impressive fourth-place finish at the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton last month earned him a captain's pick and previously rapped on a diss track where both this week's opponents were namechecked. PTO TourCollins Cup match-ups announced: Olympic medallists Blummenfelt and Wilde drawn together3 HOURS AGO Laidlow's wind-up tactics seemed to work a treat in pre-race broadcast media as Colorado's Long, 26, and Sanders both admitted to being annoyed with the American storming out and slamming the door so hard it took a sizeable chunk out of the wall, with the clip now doing the rounds on social media.

Laidlow, a particularly strong swimmer, had teasingly labelled his competitors as duathletes on stage at the ceremony and later said: «I think we could skip the swim and I'd still give them a run for their money. I'm pretty confident about that if you look at the times from previous races like Edmonton.

»This time I genuinely feel prepared for the race, I feel ready and hope to have a lonely day right until the end. «I've won no 70.3s [half-ironmans] and no Ironmans.

I've won nothing compared to these two guys and I'm still going to beat them. A nobody is going to beat them, that's what is