Comm Games silver medallist fuelled up and ready to pick up where she left off
CYCLING
WELLINGTON: New Zealand cyclist Georgia Williams believes she is ‘‘fully recovered’’ from REDS syndrome and ready to again become the rider she was three years ago.
In 2018 Williams won both the time trial and road race titles at the national championships in Napier before claiming a silver medal at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
She retained her national time trial title 12 months later but then struggled in her third season with MitcheltonScott, now named Team BikeExchange.
Williams (27) was soon diagnosed with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS) syndrome, an illness caused by not eating often enough to support the amount of energy expended.
‘‘I’m pretty much fully recovered, which is really cool,’’ Williams said.
‘‘I’m feeling much better. My energy’s good and I’m feeling good on the bike, so that’s cool.’’
The key to her recovery was eating more food, before, after and during rides.
‘‘Before I wasn’t really eating much on the bike, which was my main problem.
‘‘I’d maybe eat one bar or one banana for a threehour ride, but I’ve had to train my body to take on more food on the bike, so it’s up to 30g40g of carbs at least an hour on the bike, which helps heaps.
‘‘It took a while for my body to get used to the fuelling. Being an athlete and training for two to six hours a day you need to eat so much and I feel like I’ve finally got on top of it.
‘‘Last year I was half recovered, but I think I’m fully recovered now . . . so I’m hoping to have a really good year.’’
Her 2021 season will start at the national championships in Cambridge next month, rather than at this week’s Festival of Cycling in South Australia, which she was scheduled to ride in for Team BikeExchange.
‘‘The team put me on the start list, hoping that we’d have a New ZealandAustralian bubble,’’ Williams said.
‘‘We’ve got it one way, so I can get there, but obviously I can’t get back without another two weeks in quarantine, which I really don’t want to do.’’
That is because it would mean Williams would miss the nationals, which simply is not an option.
‘‘Nationals is always pretty important, so I’m going to make sure I’m here for that.
‘‘My team are understanding. ‘‘I’m flying out back to Spain two days later, so that’s a big goal for me for the start of the season.’’
Williams has been in New Zealand since the middle of November, avoiding the latest outbreak of Covid19 in Europe.
‘‘It’s so nice to be home for the summer and away from Covid.’’
She said it was a welcome change from daily life in Girona, Spain, where she is based during the World Tour season.
‘‘It’s totally different. It’s a bit stressful really. Even just having to go to the supermarket.’’
Once she is back in Europe, Williams will focus on the Ardennes classics early in the season and will ride in either the women’s Tour of Britain in June or the Giro Rosa in July, but not the Tokyo Olympics that follow.
‘‘At the end of 2019 we were ranked I think 32 in the world, New Zealand was, and I think we had to be top 27.’’