William Walker (cyclist)

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 of 94.[2] Walker was also heralded as Australia's next Cadel Evans.[3]

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 teamSynergy Baku Cycling Project
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)

Walker was 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]

Palmares
2003
1st Stage 4 Bay Classic Series
1st Stage one Giro di Basilicata, Italia
1st Overall Giro di Basilicata, Italia
5th World Junior time trial Championships, Hamilton, Canada
2004
1st Tattersalls cup overall
1st Victorian Road Championship
1st overall Tour of Sunraysia
1st Melbourne-Warrnambool
1st Stage 13 Herald Sun Tour
2nd National Under-23 Road Race Championships
3rd National Under-23 Time Trial Championships
10th Overall Thuringen-Rundfahrt, Germany
2005
1st Stage 2 Circuito Montañés, Spain
2nd World Under-23 Road Race Championships, Madrid, Spain
2nd National Under-23 Road Race Championships
2nd UCI Oceania Tour
5th overall Thuringen-Rundfahrt, Germany
7th overall Tour de l'Avenir
2006
1st National Elite Road Race Championships
1st National Under-23 Road Race Championships
1st Young rider Classification Tour Down Under
2nd overall Thuringen-Rundfahrt, Germany
4th overall Tour Down Under
4th overall Volta ao Distrito de Santarem, Portugal
2007
1st overall Mountains classification Sachsen tour, Germany
1st overall Points classification Sachsen tour, Germany
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
William Walker (Rabobank)
gollark: Well, as I'm DEFINITELY NOT the submitter, this would NEVER happen.
gollark: Stupid Nvidia drivers.
gollark: Oh, I would have to reboot it for GPU computing to work, sad.
gollark: My server has some spare GPU power, so I'll totally* do this.
gollark: What if *I* wanted to rock-paper some scissors?

References
  1. News 2006-02-28T00:00:00Z, Cycling. "Walking on water". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  2. "www.cyclingnews.com - the world centre of cycling". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  3. "The near-death that stopped our next Cadel". www.heraldsun.com.au. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. "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. Future plc. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
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