William Walker (cyclist)

William Walker
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Walker
Born (1985-10-31) 31 October 1985 (age 39)
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 place 2005 Madrid U-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]

  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ "cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The near-death that stopped our next Cadel". Herald Sun. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Lovelock, Jono (13 November 2013). "Will Walker: "Ready for a new challenge"". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 23 December 2013.