Otago triathlete Tony Dodds had a tough day at the latest round of the world series in Germany on Sunday.
Dodds was forced to pull out of the individual men's race just a couple of laps into the cycle leg.
He had finished the swim in 12th place but then succumbed to pain following a bike crash in training earlier in the week.
It was a disappointing end for Dodds after a string of strong results had lifted him towards the top 12 in the world series for the first time in his career.
It was left to Ryan Sissons to salvage something for the team, coming home 35th to claim New Zealand's only men's ranking points in Hamburg.
Andrea Hewitt had to settle for eighth place in the individual women's race, slipping from third to fourth in the world series ranking.
Hewitt struggled to make the front swim pack but led the chasers to bring the packs back together over the 20km bike leg.
She paid the price over the 5km run to finish in 57min 52sec, 28sec off the podium.
Simone Ackermann was the next New Zealander home in 36th place, running strongly after an uncharacteristically disappointing swim. Rebecca Clarke was 46th and Sophie Corbidge withdrew on the run with stomach pains.
Yesterday, a young New Zealand mixed relay team finished ninth at the world championship race in Hamburg.
Including debutants Corbidge and Sam Osborne, the New Zealand team fought hard throughout the race but could not haul in the leaders.
New Zealand's standings in the Olympic rankings have not changed as the team still has three women's spots and two men's spots for Rio next year.
