No sooner had the news broken that Flora Duffy was scheduled to make her much-anticipated return to international racing, her closest rival of the past few years has been ruled out of racing for the foreseeable future.
In an Instagram post, Georgia Taylor-Brown revealed that she has suffered a calf tear. After experiencing tightness in the calf for two weeks, a scan exposed the underlying issue.
To combat the injury, Taylor-Brown has undergone PRP treatment (platelet-rich plasma injections). Aside from that, her course of action will involve time away from the sport. Realistically, the tear will rule her out of racing for the remainder of the WTCS season. Although there are still two months until the WTCS Final in Pontevedra, it will be a tight turnaround to recover and regain fitness.
With the Olympic Games on the horizon, Taylor-Brown may opt to completely sign off for the year.
Ostensibly, Taylor-Brown has enjoyed a mixed season. An early 15th place at WTCS Abu Dhabi was an uncharacteristic performance, notwithstanding that its early slot in the year may have contributed a little towards it.
Taylor-Brown rallied to win WTCS Cagliari in commanding fashion. However, on either side of her win in Sardinia, she found herself out of the medals in Yokohama and Montreal. The consequence of those finishes is that she finds herself in 4th place in the WTCS standings with an uphill battle to claim the world title.
In sharing her news of her injury, Taylor-Brown hinted at the deeper story under the surface.
“I always knew it was going to be a hard year,” she wrote. “I lost my love and fun for the sport and I just started to find it again.”
At the same time, she noted on a more encouraging front that “with all the negatives running through my mind, I am happy. I’m happier than I have been in a long time, I’m safe and I am excited for each new day and it feels good to say that!”
In the meantime, recovery will be the order of the day. Taylor-Brown acknowledged that she will be spending time away from the sport. In a reassuring message to her fans, though, she added, “I will of course be back when my body is ready”.
