Georgia Taylor-Brown was determined to back up her improved swim at WTCS Karlovy Vary after she won the last regular season race before the Grand Final.

So when she found herself close to the front of the water in Pontevedra and saw a small gap forming, she decided to make the most of it.

And what happened next helped shape the race as the front group on the bike effectively put everyone else out of contention.

Fully committed

“I was so determined to have a good swim,” she said. “When I was right by the front and saw we had a small break, I was like, I just have to commit to this bike.”

Taylor-Brown became the driving force on a nine-lap course whose repeated climb steadily stripped riders from the front group. She urged the others to work together, and by T2 eight athletes were clear, with the main chase almost two minutes behind.

“I know on a course like this I can’t get a breakaway, but I can at least make it hurt,” she explained. “If it’s hurting me, it’s hurting the girls more at the back. I can try and string it out, and I think that’s exactly what happened.

“I wasn’t aware what was happening behind me. I was just like, look forward, go hard, and that’s all I can do.”

‘I personally had a lot of fun’

The effort left her unsure how much she would have left for the 10km run. But Taylor-Brown was the only athlete able to follow Cassandre Beaugrand’s initial move out of T2, before the eventual winner broke clear. Taylor-Brown held second place to the finish, crossing 1:05 behind her training partner.

“I really didn’t know what my run legs were going to feel like,” she said. “But I raced with my heart and not my head, and that’s how I like it. I like making it fun out there. I personally had a lot of fun today.”

Taylor-Brown had hoped to stay with Beaugrand for longer, but was full of praise for the Frenchwoman’s performance. “Cass was incredible today,” she said. “I’m just so happy and very emotional at the end. We got a one-two, so I think our coach will be very, very happy with that.”

Told during the interview by World Triathlon’s Doug Gray that she had climbed from seventh to third in the overall WTCS standings, Taylor-Brown was surprised. “I haven’t heard that,” she said. “I was going into this race seventh and I was happy to finish the season seventh. So if it is a series bronze, then I’m even happier.”