It had all been going so well for top Australian triathlete Chloe Lane at IRONMAN South Africa.

Just a week after she had finished in the top five at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong near Melbourne, she flew to South Africa for the opening full-distance race of the IRONMAN Pro Series.

And in the women’s pro race she was out of the water second behind leader and defending champion Marta Sanchez of Spain.

The good work continued on the bike as she was vying for second with Germany’s Anne Reischmann – and then disaster struck.

From top three to outside top 10

A flat to her rear tyre saw her stranded at the side of the road as she tried to repair the damage – and all the while the clock was ticking.

But up stepped athlete #929 in the age-group race, Paul Wijtenburg of South Africa.

It still took time – and some assistance from the official support crew – to get Chloe on her way.

But after more than 15 minutes she was back in the race – out of the top 10 but still with hope of getting back in contention of at least a spot at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona if she could work her way back into the top five.

Not to be

Two thirds of the way through the bike, Lane was at +18:16 down from leader Sanchez.

She initially started to eat into that deficit but the fairytale comeback didn’t materialise as she began to lose touch and would eventually come home in ninth place – 40 minutes adrift – as Reischmann, the woman she had been alongside when her tyre punctured, ran out a clear-cut winner.