“That’s the way the sport goes, injuries can get in the way.”

That, as Mark Allen points out, is the sad but harsh reality of the recent news that Jan Frodeno will miss Kona this year and is about to embark on the last phase of his illustrious career.

It’s one legend of the sport talking about another in the latest edition of ‘Mondays with Mark: Road to Kona’ as the six-time IRONMAN World Championship winner reflects on the injury sustained by modern-day GOAT Frodeno, a three-time winner in Hawaii.

Match-up unlikely to ever happen

Frodeno revealed that a bike crash – and subsequent infection – has ruled him out of Hawaii this year.

And Allen, whose rivalry with Dave Scott is the stuff of triathlon folklore, said: “The unfortunate thing about this is firstly that he is injured and obviously can’t race.

“He’s the reigning Kona champion and it would be great to have him back in there, but also Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt will next year be focussing on Paris and probably won’t be in Kona.

“So we will probably never see that match-up between the two Norwegians and this incredible German athlete Jan Frodeno at the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii.

“That’s the way the sport goes, injuries can get in the way.”