No fourth title in a row for Duncan as she lets collarbone heal

COURTNEY Duncan’s slim hopes of defending her world title have vanished.

The Dunedin motocross rider has made the decision to miss this weekend’s MXGP of Sardegna, allowing her injured collarbone more time to heal.

It was a considered decision that ends her chance of a fourth consecutive world title.

‘‘As a racer it can always be a difficult decision knowing when’s the right time to come back, as obviously you don’t want to return too early and step yourself further back,’’ Duncan said.

‘‘Sitting out the Sardegna GP wasn’t taken lightly, but I know it’s the right thing to do, as the recovery would have been rushed and I wouldn’t have been ready. At elite level you need to be at 100% to commit to the task and we aren’t there yet.’’

Duncan hopes to return in two weeks, for the MXGP of Spain.

While riding in the free practice session at the second round’s MXGP of Portugal early in April, Duncan had a heavy fall from her Kawasaki KX250. Since then, she has had the break in her collarbone plated by a surgeon and spent time with a friend in Southern France.

She has not let her fitness slide during that time off and she was still in the gym twice each day.

Duncan said she felt the distance from home as she processed how her season will look now.

‘‘Every contact you have with extreme sport does come with a risk of getting injured. The rewards are huge but the consequences are huge too. It’s something we are aware of when we step on to the turf. That’s the beauty of elite sport.’’

While Duncan’s aim was to claim a fourpeat title victory, she had accepted that her injury has meant that the goal posts had shifted.

‘‘We can’t change it, so we’ve switched our focus to making a strong comeback to racing for the last two rounds,’’ Duncan said.

Duncan will fly home to Dunedin in June, making the most of the two and ahalfmonth gap in the series’ revised calendar before returning to Europe to contest the final WMX round in Turkey on September 3.