We won’t get to see two-time Ironman 70.3 Oceanside champion Lionel Sanders take on three-time Kona champ Jan Frodeno again in California next weekend – the Canadian has pulled out of the race.
“Seems like deja vu—started training again last Saturday and then spent all of Sunday in bed,” Sanders posted on Instagram last night. “Decided not to mess around and took the rest of the week easy. Started again today and feel a lot better but unfortunately this means no Oceanside for me. Excited and grateful to start grinding again.”
In addition to the two wins in Oceanside, Sanders has provided lots of excitement at the race in years past. He finished second to Frodeno in 2018, and was the runner-up again last year in a thrilling sprint to the line where he out-leaned American Rudy von Berg to take second behind fellow Canadian Jackson Laundry.
This season started off with a bang for Sanders as he thrilled the crowd with a sixth-place finish at the Arena Games Montreal, but then he crashed a few weeks later at Clash Miami just as he appeared to be pushing for the lead. He got sick shortly after that event, too, which has led to his withdrawel from the race in Oceanside.