‘Cancer won’t stop me’

Glaetzer vows to keep riding as treatment starts

MATTHEW Glaetzer will start radiotherapy for thyroid cancer tomorrow after winning a silver and bronze medal at the UCI track world cup in Brisbane at the weekend.

Glaetzer, pictured, had surgery just six weeks ago after a shock diagnosis while investigating a sore neck and returned to racing with a bronze medal in New Zealand a fortnight ago. He then backed it up on the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane at the weekend where he won silver in the keirin and bronze in the sprint — the event in which he became world champion in 2018.

“I was really happy with the legs that I had this week, a lot better than last weekend in

Cambridge,” Glaetzer said. “I was able to back up with the sprint and compete so it was good to get more races under the belt.”

Glaetzer will take radioactive iodine tablets to treat the cancer tomorrow but only expects to have a few days off.

“I will be in isolation for a day then released from hospital,” he said. “Physically they say it might not affect me too much because it is such targeted treatment, that’s why I should feel OK but we’ll wait and see.

“It will be a bit of a down week but I will keep moving and might play a round of golf, then I’ll start back in the gym and prepare for worlds.”

Glaetzer said the support of his teammates and coaches had helped him cope with an emotional month.

“The team don’t treat me differently,” he said. “When we are on a trip like this together we are racing and at training … so that’s been the focus and it’s been good to distract me from things off the bike.”

REECE HOMFRAY