William Walker (born 31 October 1985 in Subiaco, Western Australia) is a retired Australian professional road racing cyclist and Australian Champion who rode for the Dutch team Rabobank between 2005 and 2008 and Spanish team Fuji–Servetto in 2009. Walker was described as having a motor on par with Lance Armstrong,[1] with a reported recorded VO2 max 94.[2] Walker was also heralded as Australia's next Cadel Evans.[3]
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Walker | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 October 1985 Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | ||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | |||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Rabobank | ||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Fuji–Servetto | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Drapac Cycling | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Synergy Baku Cycling Project | ||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Walker finished second to Dmytro Grabovskyy in the Under 23 World Road Championship in Madrid in 2005. In 2006 he famously crossed the line first in the 2006 Australian Road championships and was awarded the gold medal in both the Elite and Under 23 categories, being the first Under 23 rider in history to race in the Australian champion jersey.
Walker represented Australia in the 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008 World Road Championships as well as the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He also raced for Rabobank in the 2006 Vuelta España and the 2007 Giro d'Italia.
Walker did not ride for Fuji-Servetto in 2010 due to health issues. He returned to racing in 2012, making a successful return winning the 2012 Tour of Gippsland for Drapac Pro Cycling.[4] Walker moved to the Azerbaijan-based Synergy Baku Cycling Project for the 2014 season.[5] Walker was riding in the Australian National Road Race Championships in January 2014 when he suffered from sustained ventricular tachycardia and he retired from the race and from professional cycling.[3][4]
Major results
edit- 2003
- 1st Stage 4 Bay Classic Series
- 1st Overall Giro di Basilicata
- 1st Stage 1
- 5th Time trial, UCI Junior World Road Championships
- 2004
- 1st Overall Tattersalls Cup
- 1st Road race, Victorian Road Championships
- 1st Overall Tour of Sunraysia
- 1st Melbourne–Warrnambool
- 1st Stage 13 Herald Sun Tour
- National Under-23 Road Championships
- 2nd Road race
- 3rd Time trial
- 10th Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 2005
- 1st Stage 2 Circuito Montañés
- 2nd
Road race, UCI Under-23 World Road Championships - 2nd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
- 2nd Overall UCI Oceania Tour
- 5th Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 7th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 2006
- 1st
Road race, National Road Championships - 1st Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
- 1st
Young rider Classification Tour Down Under - 2nd Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 4th Overall Tour Down Under
- 4th Overall Volta ao Distrito de Santarem
- 2007
- Sachsen Tour
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Points classification
- 2008
- 10th Overall Herald Sun Tour
- 2009
- 1st Stage 3 Geelong Bay Classic Series
- 2012
- 1st Overall Tour of Gippsland
- 1st Stage 6 Tour of Tasmania
- 2013
- 1st Victorian Road Championship
- 1st Stage 1 Tour of Toowoomba
- 2nd Overall Tour of Thailand
- 3rd Overall New Zealand Cycle Classic
- 4th Tour de Okinawa
- 5th Overall Tour of Hainan
References
edit- ^ News 2006-02-28T00:00:00Z, Cycling (28 February 2006). "Walking on water". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b "The near-death that stopped our next Cadel". Herald Sun. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b "I thought I was going to die – Will Walker retires from pro cycling". cyclingtips.com. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017.
- ^ Lovelock, Jono (13 November 2013). "Will Walker: "Ready for a new challenge"". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
External links
edit
- Team website
- William Walker at trap-friis.dk