Tasmanians Georgia Baker and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden have helped Australia win a fourth straight Commonwealth Games team pursuit gold medal in Glasgow this morning.
The pair were part of the five-rider squad that came from one second behind at the halfway mark to beat New Zealand by more than two seconds in the 4,000-metre final.
Wilson-Haffenden, who turned 21 a fortnight ago, played a key role late in the race as Australia finished in 4:10.658, smashing the Games record of 4:12.234 set four years ago.
The result caps a rapid rise for the junior world time trial champion, who only took up cycling five years ago after answering a talent identification ad in her local paper at Glendevie during Covid.
She turned up to the testing day in running shoes with no cycling gear and no experience in the sport.
Wilson-Haffenden said the freezing early mornings on Tasmanian roads, dodging wallabies at 6am, were not glamorous but were what built champions.
She described cycling as a lonely sport but credited those tough conditions in Tasmania with building her character.
Baker, 31, a three-time Olympian and world champion from Perth in northern Tasmania, said she had to fight for her place back in the squad after spending time away from the track.
She said winning another gold with this group was exciting and a sign of what the team could achieve in the future.
Wilson-Haffenden said racing alongside Baker was beyond anything she had imagined when she first picked up the sport, recalling that Baker was one of the first names she heard when she started cycling in 2021.
Claudia Marcks, Alyssa Polites and Sophie Edwards rounded out the Australian squad.
Baker is listed to contest the 10km scratch race final early tomorrow.
