Fast track to festival
GEELONG’S newest world cycling champion Rebecca Wiasak is certainly no stranger to Pako Festa.
But unlike previous years where she dressed in Lithuanian national costume, this year Wiasak will be wearing her rainbow jersey and gold medal, riding in the lead car with the Pako Festa mascot.
Wiasak, who flew home fresh from her win in Paris last week, says she’s excited to see family and friends at the festival.
“Pako Fest is such as huge day, a huge part of my life,” she said.
“The Lithuanian community have been amazing supporting and sharing this amazing journey of mine from Geelong to the world championship.”
Wiasak said she couldn’t have achieved her results without support from Geelong’s Lithuanian community.
“They have been amazing supporters and have contributed financially to assist me, including the Geelong Vytis Sports Club who gave me a cash donation and the Geelong Lithuanian community gave me a small sponsorship which definitely helped.”
Her father Alex said he and his wife Mimi were very proud of their daughter winning the individual pursuit 3000m world title.
“At 30, she was the oldest Australian female debutant at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Paris and she won the bloody thing,” he said.
Her mother said they had stayed up late to catch the results and danced around their house in their pyjamas when they realised she had won.
“We realised she was special on the bike when she won the Women’s Tour of Geelong in 2011,” she said.
Wiasak initially planned a career in journalism after com- pleting work experience at the Geelong Advertiser in Year 10.
She moved to Canberra to do a sports media degree, then worked at a Canberra newspaper before cycling took her career in a different trajectory.
“Next I’m up for the Adelaide tour in April, The Mersey Valley Tour in May, then with Women’s Endurance Track Squad off to Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. I like Holland, it’s flat, no hills, everyone rides a bike and I’d love Geelong to be like that.”
She also credits her coach Gary Sutton and boyfriend Ben Hill, who rides professionally for Charter Mason, for keeping her on track.
Wiasak said she was train- ing hard for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
“My individual pursuit event is no longer an Olympic event so I’m training with the team at the moment and have even been measured up for a uniform, but who knows,” she said. “It’s so surreal, I still can’t believe I have a rainbow jersey and medal.”