Rachel Neylan (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional road cyclist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 World Championships in the women's road race event.[7] She won the inaugural women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in January 2015.[8]

Rachel Neylan
Neylan at the finish of the 2018 Amstel Gold Race
Personal information
Full nameRachel Neylan
Born (1982-03-09) 9 March 1982 (age 42)
Sydney, Australia
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Amateur team
2020Casa Dorada Women Cycling
Professional teams
2011Diadora–Pasta Zara
2012Abus–Nutrixxion
2013Team Hitec Products[1]
2015–2017Orica–AIS
2018Movistar Team
2019Team Virtu Cycling[2]
2020–2021Cronos–Casa Dorada[3]
2021Parkhotel Valkenburg[4]
2022–2023Cofidis[5][6]
Major wins
One day races
Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan Dames (2016)
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (2015)

Early life

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Neylan was born in Sydney, Australia. She competed in athletics throughout her teenage years, before taking up rowing. She studied at the University of Sydney after which she became a physiotherapist.[9][10] Between 2006 and 2007, she worked as a physiotherapist for the Australian rowing team.[10][11]

Career

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In late 2007, Neylan was accepted onto the development program at the South Australian Sports Institute. She rode domestic Australian races throughout 2008 and rode in both the US and Europe during the 2009 season, before signing with Team System Data for the 2010 season.[9] During the season she finished fourth at the Australian National Road Race Championships,[12] however was forced out of the 2010 UCI Road World Championships after crashing on a training ride in Italy resulting in a broken jaw.[13]

Neylan signed for the Diadora–Pasta Zara team for the 2011 season.[13] She then moved to Abus–Nutrixxion for the 2012 season,[14] during which time she finished second in the World Championships Road Race behind Marianne Vos,[15] before signing with Team Hitec Products for the 2013 season.[14] However, she struggled with a knee injury during the 2013 season, and after recovering was hit by a car in 2014 which injured her knee a second time.[10]

In early 2015, Neylan finished second at the National Road Race championships and won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race,[12] which resulted in her signing a contract for Orica–AIS.[16] Neylan competed in the road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing in 22nd position.[17]

Neylan rode for Team Virtu Cycling during the 2019 season, during which time she won a stage at the Gracia–Orlová[18] and recorded two more Top 10 finishes in the WorldTour.[10] At the end of 2019, Virtu Cycling closed the women's team and Neylan signed for new Spanish outfit Cronos–Casa Dorada. However one of the major backers of the team pulled their funding, preventing Neylan from taking part in the races required for her to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. During the 2021 mid-season transfer window, Neylan moved to Parkhotel Valkenburg.[10] In August 2021, Neylan finished sixth overall in the Ladies Tour of Norway.[12]

Major results

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References

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  1. ^ Aubrey, Jane (2 October 2012). "Hitec Products sign Neylan, Ratto for 2013". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Team Virtu Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Cronos - Casa Dorada Women Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Parkhotel Valkenburg". Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Cofidis Women Team". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Cofidis announces team roster". Voxwomen. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Rachel Neylan finished second in world road cycle titles behind Marianne Vos". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  8. ^ Woodpower, Zeb. "Neylan wins inaugural women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race". Cycling News. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b Connolly, Sarah. "An interview with Rachel Neylan: "the harder you work, the luckier you get"". Podium Cafe. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e Adam Beckett (October 2021). "The Fall and Rise of Rachel Neylan". ProCycling. Future PLC. pp. 90–95.
  11. ^ Aubrey, Jane (31 January 2015). "Without a team, Neylan's courage rewarded with maiden victory". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Rachel Neylan". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  13. ^ a b Johnson, Greg. "Australia's Neylan signs with Geox for 2011". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Hitec take over the Worlds - Rachel Neylan and Rossella Ratto sign up for 2013". Podiumcafe. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  15. ^ Ryan, Barry. "Vos solos to second road world championship". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Rachel Neylan joins ORICA-AIS". VeloNews. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Rachel Neylan". Olympics.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Neylan solos away to win at Gracia Orlova". SBS Cycling. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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