Britain’s Nikki Bartlett has been forced to withdraw from the IRONMAN Frankfurt European Championships after being struck down with an illness during race week.

The PTO World #35, who finished second at the event in Frankfurt last year when it was IRONMAN Germany, was among the favourites coming into the race, having recently shown some great form over the middle distance.

With IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea next on the calendar, the Brit took the decision to not travel out to Germany and instead rest up to recover in time for the race in Wales.

“So hard writing things on social media which is pants news”

Having won IRONMAN 70.3 Marbella before finishing a strong fourth at IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau last month, Bartlett looked to be in great form ahead of her first full distance race of the year.

However, having picked up an illness at the start of the week, the 36 year old shared on Instagram that her condition had gone from bad to worse, leaving her with no choice other than to withdraw.

“So hard writing things on social media which is pants news. I’m feeling sad writing this. Unfortunately, I’m not able to travel out for IRONMAN Frankfurt this weekend. On Monday I woke up feeling rather bleh, so took a day in bed.

“Each day I’ve progressively got worse, and this head cold has hit me hard. We delayed travelling in hope it was a 48 hour thing. But sadly it’s not.

“I’m a little upset, but I want to wish everyone racing a fabulous day. I will miss being there so much, but health comes first. I’m focussing on getting better to race Swansea 70.3 in a couple of weeks.”