William Walker
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Walker
Born (1985-10-31) 31 October 1985
Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight60 kg (130 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Professional teams
2005–2008Rabobank
2009Fuji–Servetto
2012–2013Drapac Cycling
2014Synergy Baku Cycling Project
Major wins
Elite National Road Race Championships (2006)
Under-23 National Road Race Championships (2006)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2005 MadridU-23 Men's Road Race

Silver Medal U-23 Men's Road Race 2005 UCI Road World Championships

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]

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

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

  1. ↑ News 2006-02-28T00:00:00Z, Cycling. "Walking on water". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 "The near-death that stopped our next Cadel". Herald Sun. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 "I thought I was going to die – Will Walker retires from pro cycling". cyclingtips.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Lovelock, Jono (13 November 2013). "Will Walker: "Ready for a new challenge"". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Walker (cyclist).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.