STATEMENT FROM WILL WALKER, FEBRUARY 2014

The ventricular tachycardia I encountered at the national championship was enough for me to instantly decide that I was not ever going to race again. I had  a clean bill of health while riding for Drapac apart from a light episode at the Tour of the Great South coast and looked to be staying comfortably on top of it. However on the day of the road race, I knew something was not right, but I pushed through it, 5 had worked hard, was in great shape and had made a good split in the race that would have put me into a great position to gain a result. Pushing through in hindsight was not a wise move and the result of that was sustained ventricular tachycardia for nearly an hour at 270 beats, and by far the worst episode I have ever had.

Looking back at that day makes me feel happy that I still have my life but that I was also able to give cycling a second chance and thanks are certainly due to Michael Drapac and Synergy Baku for their belief.

Andre La Gerche (cardiologist) recently said to me that my comeback was similar to making a comeback in football after knee surgery, and that it was improbable that I would return to my very best. It turns out that once I got close to my best form the problem returned. I will continue to be tested and look at returning in the safest way to normal life through the supervision and guidance of Dr La Gerche ,who is known as a world leader in sports cardiology. But one easy solution is just to cancel my racing license!

Looking back at my career, I am extremely satisfied with my results. My Elite and Under 23 Australian championship at the same time is the highlight, but so too are my second in the Under 23 Worlds in Madrid in 2006, the two Grand Tours I rode, the Commonwealth games and the World Championships I competed in. Working with Aldo Sassi was an absolute honor and something  I will cherish for the rest of my life! He was not just a great coach but an amazing person, and I truly learned a lot about life from him. I think he would be very happy to see that I have decided to stop racing again so that I can concentrate on looking after his daughter, to whom I am engaged.

Into the future, my intensions are to stay involved with the Synergy Baku cycling team, however in what capacity is still to be discussed.  Seeing a project grow, from ground up will naturally be a very exciting process and I hope I will be able to have some great input into mentoring and looking after the upcoming riders.

WALKER RETIRES AND LAVERY JOINS SYNERGY BAKU CYCLING PROJECT

Australian to remain part of Project

Synergy Baku Cycling Project has further personnel changes, as Will Walker has announced his retirement from riding and Irishman Philip Lavery (wiki article) has joined the team. Walker will stay associated with the Baku setup, in a back room capacity as coaching staff.  

Lavery, 23, has ridden for two other Continental ranked teams, and was with an amateur French team last season, before serving as a stagiaire for the Cofidis Team. He did not get a pro contract with Cofidis when it did not become ProTour. Assuming his career was over, he sold his bikes and took a full-time job. Baku is happy to give him a further chance at cycling success.

He will make his debut for Baku on 23rd of February  at the GP Izola in Slovenia.

“Initially when the place become vacant, we looked to the Azerbaijan Federation or riders from the regions” said team manager David McQuaid. “However, when putting our 2014 squad together we purposely listed three young Azeri riders as Baku Trainees, part of the team set-up for camps, etc., in order to assist and nurture their development and then coming on board as stagiaires on August 1st. And given the nature of our early season races in both Asia and particularly Europe it was still felt that this was the correct approach."

"There certainly has been a lot going on of late, not just the pre-season set up,” McQuaid continued. “In Will's case or scenario he was never under pressure from us regarding his immediate future and I had the chance to sit with him face to face at the Sun Tour for a good talk. We will figure something out, I firmly believe that and Will firmly believes that. Right now that is all Will needs going into and during a period of some pretty complex heart surgery"

"Regarding Philip, he is an incredibly gifted rider. Being that he is Irish has nothing to do with it. But it does mean that I have seen him in the past put in some pretty incredible rides at the Ras or the Nationals. It was sad for him to see his stagiaire placement didn't work out in France last year, he had a great season, shame it ended in that way. During these recent weeks I spoke to McCann and he was all for the idea of filling that place with Philip."

“I'm very grateful to the Baku team and staff for the opportunity to continue my career in a winter that has been very difficult to secure a contract,” Lavery said.

“For the Azeri riders, I am just 23 years old but I have been a professional for 4 years, so I feel that I bring a big amount of experience. I also have a lot of growth to come so this can be an asset to other young riders, as we grow together.”

Lavery brought in four first-place finishes with his amateur team last year and was second in the Irish national road race, behind new Baku teammate Matt Brammeier. In 2012 he was National U-23 road champion.

Walker, 28, has had to retire due to heart problems. He had previously skipped the 2010 and 2011 seasons, but made a two-year comeback and hoped to continue with Baku this season. However, the heart problems re-occurred during his first race this year, the Australian National Championships and he made the decision to end his active career.

“The ventricular tachycardia I encountered at the national championship was enough for me to instantly decide that I was not ever going to race again,” Walker said. “I had  a clean bill of health while riding for Drapac the last two years, apart from a light episode at the Tour of the Great South Coast, and looked to be staying comfortably on top of it. However on the day of the road race, I knew something was not right, but I pushed through it, I had worked hard, was in great shape and had made a good split in the race that would have put me into a great position to gain a result.

“Pushing through in hindsight was not a wise move and the result of that was sustained ventricular tachycardia for nearly an hour at 270 beats, and by far the worst episode I have ever had.”

Walker has undergone surgery in the last few days to correct further complications which have come up. “I had a procedure to get an icd (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), that has pacemaker functions. I am now on beta blockers,” he said.

 He helped the team in the Herald Sun Tour, and when he has recovered from this surgery, decisions will be made concerning his future.

“Into the future, my intensions are to stay involved with the Synergy Baku cycling team, however in what capacity is still to be discussed.  Seeing a project grow, from ground up will naturally be a very exciting process and I hope I will be able to have some great input into mentoring and looking after the upcoming riders,” Walker said.

SYNERGY BAKU CYCLING PROJECT TO THE HERALD SUN TOUR Team looks to Luke Davison in the prologue The Synergy Baku Cycling Project is looking to Luke Davison to star in the prologue of the Herald Sun Tour (February 5-9 / UCI 2.1). The Australian, who won a stage in the race last year, will lead a multi-nation squad in his homeland race. Luke wins Stage 2 in 2013 (courtesy HST)  Video interview with Luke Along with Davison, the team will feature Azeris Elchin Asadov and Tural Isgandarov, fellow Australian Pat Lane and Germans Daniel Klemme and Christoph Schweizer. With Davison, Klemme and Schweizer, “we have a sprinters team,” said sport director Jeremy Hunt. “Elchin and Tural are for the breakaways, and GC is all for Pat Lane.” Pat Lane interview here "The Sun Tour goes back a long way. It is a race with history. Our own DS's Jeremy Hunt,  Arvis Piziks and perhaps David McCann have all ridden it,” said team manager David McQuaid. “We are very grateful to John Trevorrow, Adam Renn and their team for giving us a start". “We have a decent team there, for some of the riders the first race of the season, others will have the hard New Zealand Cycle Classic in their legs. I know it will stand to them when they are up against the GreenEDGE, Garmin and Cannondale guys in the sprints. But we also have a secret weapon in Luke Davison. The race opens with a 2.5km prologue in CDB streets in Melbourne at dusk. We couldn't have asked for a better platform for Luke to perform in his first race with Synergy Baku." Last year, Davison, riding for SASI Cycling / Feelgood Fitness, won the race's second stage out of a breakaway.  The 23-year-old won the Omnium at the UCI Track World Cup track meet in Aguascalientes in December as well as being on the winning team pursuit squad. Most recently he won the Australian national title in the Madison. The race opens with a 2.5km prologue through “the heart of Melbourne,” and the team is counting on Davison that day. Stage one offers the first mountain points and a rolling run-in to the finish line in Ballarat. The second and third and stages are expected to end in bunch sprints, while the closing fourth stage will decide the overall winner. This 124km closer features three climbs of Arthur's Seat, a tough climb sure to test riders' tired legs.