Daniela Ryf is ready for a break from elite competition after finishing a distant 11th in Saturday’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George.

The Swiss superstar, who has topped the podium five times in the marquee event, had no answer as the dominant Lucy Charles-Barclay blazed to a sensational victory in Utah.

Ryf came out of the water around two-and-a-half minutes behind the British ace, and though she did momentarily move up to the shoulder of second-placed Taylor Knibb during the big leg, she then fell away to finish outside the top 10.

Time to rest and recover – Ryf

This disappointment came a month after she had been convincingly beaten by Knibb at the Collins Cup, having woken feeling unwell on race day.

Now she admits the time is right to take a break in a bid to return her body to 100 percent for the challenges which lie ahead.

In an Instagram post, she said: “I gave it all I had today, attacked a few times but no-one noticed😜. 11th place for me. Not what I came here for but I am clearly not fit and healthy enough to keep up with the best at the moment. Its been a rough few months with weird things happening to my body.

“Thats why it’s time for a break now and give body and mind a proper rest for its full recovery.”

Daniela classy in defeat

Despite her own pain, Daniela was classy in defeat, and praised Charles-Barclay for landing her first world championship title in the professional ranks.

“Well done @lucycharles93 for an amazing performance today and achieving your first World Champion Title. Well deserved. 👏🏼”

The rescheduling of the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona to February 2022 (at the earliest) means Ryf now has a longer period of time to be ready for ‘The Big Island’. The race had been due to take place on October 9.