Australia Announce Cyclist Jack Haig’s Replacement at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

27-year-old cyclist Jack Haig became the second name to withdraw from Australia’s cycling team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Owing his absence to the injuries sustained at the ongoing Tour de France, 30-year-old Luke Durbridge will replace him in the team at the global sporting spectacle.

Haig joins Cameron Meyer on the absentee list, with the latter opting to spend time with his ill father.

Luke Durbridge set to make Olympics debut at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Haig made an impressive start at Tour de France, finishing 4th in the first stage and 10th in the second stage. In addition, the Team Bahrain Victorius cyclist was 6th in the general classification after the second stage.

However, a crash in the third stage left him with a broken collarbone and a concussion. Although the injuries forced him to withdraw from competing further in France, he believed he would recover in time for the Olympics. With the injury worse than earlier perceived, Haig gave up his spot to Durbridge.

The Western Australia-born cyclist, who rides for Team BikeExchange, made his seventh appearance at the Tour de France this year.

Although his team isn’t in the running for the yellow jersey, his Australian teammate Michael Matthews is second in the green jersey ranking.

Ian Chesterman, Australia’s Chef de Mission, congratulated Durbridge on his first selection for the Olympics. He said, “Congratulations to Luke on making his Olympic debut. Today’s selection is a great achievement for a rider who has competed at an elite level for more than a decade.”

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Durbridge shares a social media post to sum up the realization of a dream

The 30-year-old cyclist took to Instagram to share his feelings at the prospect of getting the call up for the Olympics. While the Australian admitted it needed a little luck, he believed hard work was key to his success.

He wrote, “I wrote in my dairy when I was 15 I wanted to go and represent my country at the Olympic Games. It’s a long road to your dreams with lots of ups and downs and sometimes you just need some stars to align to get there.

“But you just got to show up each day and do your best and try because if you never try you will never know. I’m deeply honoured to get the call up to represent my country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

Durbridge joins his BikeExchange teammate Lucas Hamilton, Rohan Dennis, and Richie Porte as part of the track team for the men’s road race. The race at the Olympics will take place next Saturday, July 24th.

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