Eight road cyclists and a track endurance rider were selected yesterday to join the Australian Olympic Team for the Tokyo Olympics in July this year.
Dual World Championship medallist and three-time Women’s Santos Tour Down Under winner Amanda Spratt will return to the Olympics for the third time, while two-time individual time trial world champion and 2015 Santos Tour Down Under winner Rohan Dennis will also make his third appearance at the Olympics.
Ten-time Tour Down Under rider Cameron Meyer has also been selected, alongside the King of Willunga Hill Richie Porte who told Aus Cycling,
“The Olympics is a massive career highlight for me. You don't take for granted to be selected for the team in a country like Australia as it has so many worthy guys to choose from, so to just make the team, it's a big honour.”
It will be a career highlight for four Aussies who are making their Olympics debut, including 20-year-old Santos Festival of Cycling superstar Sarah Gigante who took to the podium 13 times during the 2021 festival. Also making their Olympic debut is South Australian rider Tiffany Cromwell, 2019 Women’s Tour Down Under Stage winner Grace Brown, and two-time Tour Down Under rider Jack Haig.
Starting in Tokyo’s Musashinonomori Park, the men’s route will cover 244 kilometres including 4,865 meters of elevation, while the women’s route will be 147 kilometres with 2,692 metres of elevation.
South Australian track endurance rider Alexandra Manly, who has raced in both the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under and the 2021 Santos Festival of Cycling, will also make her Olympic debut after being selected to the track team.
Other Australian track cyclists who have been a part of the Santos Men’s and Women’s Tour Down Under or Festival of Cycling include Annette Edmondson, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Lucas Plapp, Maeve Plouffe and Sam Welsford.
We’ll be watching eagerly and cheering on our Aussie road and track cyclists this July!
Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo – Road Cycling
|
Name |
Event |
Years in the STDU |
STDU Stage Wins |
|
Amanda Spratt |
Road Race |
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
2017 Stage , 2018 Stage 3, 2019 Stage 2, 2020 Stage 2 |
|
Grace Brown |
Time Trial, |
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
2019 Stage 3 |
|
Sarah Gigante |
Time Trial, Road Race |
2020, 2021 |
2021 Stage 1 & 2 |
|
Tiffany Cromwell |
Road Race |
2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 |
- |
|
Richie Porte |
Road Race |
2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
2014 Stage 5, 2015 Stage 5, 2016 Stage 5, 2017 Stage 2 & 5, 2018 Stage 5, 2019 Stage 6, 2020 Stage 3, 2021 Stage 3 |
|
Jack Haig |
Road Race |
2014, 2015 |
- |
|
Rohan Dennis |
Time Trial |
2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
2015 Stage 3 |
|
Cameron Meyer |
Road Race |
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
2011 Stage 4 |
Track cyclists selected for the Australian Olympic Team
|
Name |
Event/s |
Years in the STDU |
STDU Stage Wins |
|
Alexandra Manly |
Track |
2017, 2018, 2021 |
- |
|
Ashlee Ankudinoff |
Endurance |
2017, 2018, 2019 |
- |
|
Georgia Baker |
Endurance |
2018, 2021 |
2021 Stage 4 |
|
Annette Edmondson |
Endurance |
2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 |
2016 Stage 2, 2018 Stage 1 |
|
Matthew Glaetzer |
Sprint |
- |
|
|
Nathan Hart |
Sprint |
- |
|
|
Leigh Howard |
Endurance |
2012, 2016, 2021 |
- |
|
Kaarle McCulloch |
Sprint |
- |
- |
|
Kelland O'Brien |
Endurance |
2020, 2021 |
|
|
Lucas Plapp |
Endurance |
2021 |
2021 Stage 2 |
|
Maeve Plouffe |
Endurance |
2018, 2021 |
- |
|
Alexander Porter |
Endurance |
2018, 2021 |
|
|
Matthew Richardson |
Sprint |
|
|
|
Sam Welsford |
Endurance |
2018, 2020, 2021 |
2021 Stage 4 |
