THE LAST DANCE

Jan Frodeno's fairy-tale ending may not have materialised in Nice, but the man regarded by many as the GOAT has written a story unmatched by anyone else over the last two decades. We sat down with the tri legend to look back at a career well executed...

- Jan Frodeno

As Jan Frodeno mustered mind and body at altitude in Andorra, the former Olympic and three-time Ironman world champion understood both the weight of expectation and size of the challenge ahead.

"We've never seen a world-class field come together on a course like this," he said.

"That will change the dynamics and there are certain athletes who are going to be very aggressive." If The Last Dance was the refrain in the build-up to his attempt to regain a treasured title last won in imperious style in Hawaii in 2019, by the time he landed in the south of France - with the artwork on his Canyon Speedmax inspired by the Saturn 5 rocket - it had been rebranded Mission Moonshot.

With hindsight there was merit in both titles. In triathlon, perhaps only Frodeno can draw parallels to basketball great Michael Jordan in terms of influence; Jordan's Last Dance miniseries a smash-hit for Netflix. But Moonshot also signalled the cautionary note that triumph on Nice's Promenade des Anglais was no given, and so it would prove.

At 42, Frodeno would have been four years older than Craig Alexander was when Day one of retirement, 8am, and a familiar scene is unfolding. Frodeno gingerly edges himself towards his bike attached to the Zwift Hub on the decking of one of the many beach restaurants on the Cote d'Azur you'd book for the location alone.

Oakley shades on, the team can be forgiven for being a little fuzzy over what time yesterday ended and today began, and while he's arguably in better shape than any 42-year-old in the world, right now Frodeno is feeling all of those 42 years. The session is a social group ride for Zwift, one of his many sponsor commitments that haven't ended at the finish line, but as he eases himself in and celebrates pushing up to 160 watts, it's also a good chance for a few reflections on the career of one of the triathlon greats, if not the greatest.

A STAR IS BORN...