CD OUT OF ACTION FOR ROUND ONE

Kiwi motocross legend and four-time world champion Courtney Duncan has been sidelined for at least one round of the FIM Women’ s World Championships with pericarditis. The condition causes swelling and irritation of the tissue around the heart and the effect is debilitating. The tough, fit 29 year-old is in a situation where she has to forego her usual rigorous physical routine, as even gentle exercise is a struggle and pushing hard actually lengthens the recovery time – a frustrating situation for a competitive athlete. CD is slowly and carefully following her recovery and slowly building back but the downtime will see the smiling Southlander have to reset her sights for a round or two as the excellent level she had built up to in pre-season training will have faded considerably, giving her rivals a glimmer of hope before Courtney Duncan gets back to her unstoppable form. Hopefully, this will happen in time for her to add another title but with legend status already well and truly carved in stone, her team and fans are just wishing her all the very best in her recovery. On Courtney’ s side is her proven resilience to setbacks in the past that did little to dampen her enthusiasm for the sport and the results after each setback are more of a warning to the best female motocross riders in the world than anything else. Expect to see her flying the Kiwi flag soon but the priority has to be a full recovery, which the medical staff see as something to expect as there appears to be no permanent damage done.