Georgia Taylor-Brown reckons the women’s triathlon at the Olympics will “unfortunately” boil down to a run battle.
In Tokyo three years ago she won silver to Flora Duffy’s gold as both drove the pace on the bike to distance much of the field.
They did the same the following year at the Commonwealth Games, when they again took one-two.
But the pair have been on the sidelines through injury for much of the last year – and in that time Taylor-Brown feels the dynamic of the racing has changed.
‘We don’t have that swimmer right now’
Speaking to the Team GB media a week out from the race on 31 July she explained: “For me, unfortunately I think it’s all going to come together. It’s looking like it could be a run race. Of course we never know, it’s triathlon and there are so many variables so anything can happen.
“But looking at the race last year [the Paris Test Event which saw uber runners Beth Potter and Cassandre Beaugrand take first and second], not having someone like a Jess Learmonth really leading out the swim, it’s all kind of coming back together.
“In particular Jess would lead it out in the second lap of an Olympic distance race, as she did in Tokyo. But we don’t have that swimmer to do that right now.”
Learmonth has only recently returned to race action following the birth of her first child but many have speculated ahead of the Olympics that the likes of GTB, Duffy and American star Taylor Knibb could join forces on the bike to try and split the field – but Georgia’s not so sure.
She added: “I think it could end up being a big bike pack and I’ve prepared for that and it’s fine. That’s how it’s been in racing for the last year or so now.
“I think at that point it’s then all about being very vigilant about what’s going on around you. And if it is a big group, then it’s making the right decisions and being decisive.”
All about the run
Taylor-Brown believes Olympic champion Duffy’s absence has been keenly felt too, with Potter and Beaugrand largely bossing matters right from the start of the run in recent times.
She explained: “Since Flora Duffy got injured it’s stopped being a sort of breakaway race so I’ve had to really focus on my running and make sure it’s the best it can possibly be to keep up with the girls who are pushing the pace at the front.
“I do think it’s changed. It’s so difficult because I think everyone’s bike abilities have come on – we’re all at a similar level so it’s so hard to get a breakaway.
“[It means that] the top runners are now at the front of the race at the start of the run whereas they used to be in the second group because they weren’t making that swim / bike split .
“It’s definitely something I’ve thought about and put a bit more effort into my running – not just the running, but running off the bike, on tired legs.”
Down to the wire
And Taylor-Brown is “happy and proud” to be in Paris and racing after a difficult 12 months.
She said: “It’s very different to Tokyo – I’d effectively qualified two years out for that whereas this time I left it very last minute.
“It was a little bit stressful and a little bit touch and go to be honest – when I got injured last year there was an opportunity for all the spots to pretty much go. But I just thought there’s nothing I can really do about that now.
“So I just focussed on my rehab over the winter and I’m really happy and proud of myself that I’ve got to the level I have in what was a fairly short space of time and not many races.”
Water quality in spotlight
The inevitable question over water quality in the River Seine received a measured response – though the threat of a duathlon rather than a triathlon now seems to have massively receded on the back of a largely dry and sunny weather forecast over the next week.
Taylor-Brown said: “At the end of the day in triathlon we are sometimes swimming in terrible water quality.
We’ve seen people getting sick which is obviously really unfortunate but that’s the situation the world is in.
And that sad fact of this not being an isolated occurrence means that Team GB’s preparation for Paris very closely matches that for Tokyo.
Taylor-Brown explained: “It’s mainly cleanliness and keeping on top of hydration afterwards. Even in Tokyo the doctor was washing us down to get everything off straight away. Mouthwash straight away too and using things like Pepto-Bismol just to line your stomach before the race.
“We’ve been doing those kind of things for years because of the different water qualities.
“For me I’ve not really worried about water quality. We obviously get updates now and then and we hear things in the news but I’m just controlling the things I can control – and that’s my training and preparing for the race and I fully trust that everyone working will put in the best efforts to make sure it goes ahead as a triathlon.”
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