Jan Frodeno was a DNF on his eagerly-awaited return to action at Challenge Roth on Sunday – pulling out of the race when leading early on the run in Germany.
The German legend was competing for the first time since last year’s Collins Cup after missing the IRONMAN World Championship due to an Achilles injury.
He had led after the swim and was still in front at T2 after a blistering bike leg of 4:03:07 followed by a 1:15 transition.
But all the question marks over his prospects pre-race were around his running potential, given his early-season injury.
And unfortunately they were answered at the start of the marathon as he pulled up, pointing to his Achilles.
A partial tear of the Achilles had put paid to Frodeno’s defence of the IRONMAN World Championship title in St George in May.
In the build-up to his return he had stressed that his running was the big issue, saying: “I know I’ve trained well and I’m in good form, but I don’t have enough running kms so I’m hoping for a positive outcome and I have to realistic to a certain degree and also consider the rest of the season.”
How the race panned out
Frodeno only had compatriot Maurice Clavel for company throughout the swim and they reached the transition zone just a few seconds inside 49 minutes, with a lead of 1:26 over the rest.
Once onto the bike Magnus Ditlev (DEN) – who was to set a course record of 4:01:56 – emerged as the biggest threat to Frodeno and the pair entered T2 within seconds of each other.
But Frodeno was out first and now was the moment of truth.
More to follow…
Originally posted on TRI247.com. Click here to Read More.