Wheels in motion as Tassie cyclist Georgia Baker chases Olympic gold

Georgia Baker is gearing up for her second Olympic campaign – but there will be one special fan who won’t be at the track to cheer her on.

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WHEN Georgia Baker’s second Olympic campaign begins at Izu Velodrome on August 2, a special cheer will go up in Launceston.

Travel restrictions mean that Dearne Baker won’t be able to see her daughter ride for gold in person, so she’ll be glued to the TV screen instead.

Georgia will be riding in the team pursuit and in the debut appearance of the madison at an Olympic Games.

This time around she has had a better lead-up to the Games, after a serious crash disrupted her preparation for Rio in 2016.

Georgia Baker will be chasing gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August. Picture: Getty

And the added experience would help her daughter too, Dearne Baker said.

“The team’s been preparing really well, she said the training’s been going well. Georgia’s got that Rio experience under her belt. Knowing what to expect in these Olympics — and she’s older as well — it’ll be a different Olympics,” she said.

“With the team pursuit there’s probably about five countries that are really close.

“And when you’re looking at probably one to one and a half seconds between all those countries, there’s no standout.”

Georgia Baker grew up as an all-round athlete, taking part in taekwondo, triathlon, swimming and local netball and had recognised potential in cycling, basketball and rowing.

In an interview on the Australian Olympic Committee website, track cycling has been her foremost obsession.

“I went up to the velodrome in Launceston and rode the track for the very first time and have loved it ever since,” she said

Multiple junior world titles followed, among career highlights including fifth place in the team pursuit on her Olympic debut in Rio and gold in the team pursuit at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Australian athletes board their charter flight at Cairns Airport on Saturday as they head to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games. Picture: Getty

Dearne Baker said it would be strange not being in the stands, but she would be there in spirit.

“We went to Rio, we’ve been to world championships. We’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of the world through Georgia’s cycling,” she said.

“I’d never not watch it, but more so with the madison I’d be watching through my hands. I get really nervous, but I’ve never not watched it.

“We’ll have a few people come around and we’ll be cheering along.

“It is amazing, like all parents, you see the kids through the bad times and the good times. “She’s worked really hard so hopefully she gets the rewards that she deserves.”

. @BakerGeorgia is the embodiment of an endurance athlete, not just for what she does on the bike, but for facing the devastating loss of her father, a medal-robbing crash at Rio 2016 & a heart condition that threatened to end her career.
MORE https://t.co/wsORz3fWlqpic.twitter.com/oiR2K6WamY

— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) March 23, 2020

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