Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Ally Wollaston

Ally Wollaston
Wollaston in 2023
Personal information
Full nameAlly Wollaston
Born (2001-01-04) 4 January 2001 (age 23)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Team information
Current teamAG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step
DisciplineRoad
Track
RoleRider
Amateur team
2020Velo Project
Professional team
2021–NXTG Racing

Ally Wollaston (born 4 January 2001) is a New Zealand professional track racing cyclist and road cyclist riding for AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step.[2] She was a double-medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is the first New Zealand rider to win two titles at the same track World Championships.

Early life

Wollaston was born on 4 January 2001 in Auckland, New Zealand.[3] She is the youngest of three sisters; her sister Nina has medalled at a Para-cycling road World Cup in 2019.[4] She grew up in Auckland but later moved to the Waikato.[5] She got into cycling through her family as they were helping out with the St Peter's School cycling team.[6] Wollaston was educated at St Peter's School, and as of 2024 is a part-time law student at the University of Waikato.[7][8]

Career

Wollaston was part of the New Zealand team that won the team pursuit race in Hong Kong as part of the 2019–20 UCI Track Cycling World Cup. She also won gold in the individual pursuit at the 2019 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships.[9]

Wollaston began racing professionally on the road for NXTG Racing in August 2021. In January 2022, Wollaston won the National criterium championships.[10] She then went to join her team in Europe and got her first win for the team at the Grand Prix du Morbihan on 14 May 2022.

Wollaston was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, she crashed and injured her wrist during stage two of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, and was unable to compete at the Commonwealth Games.[11]

Wollaston started the 2024 season in good form and won a stage in the Tour Down Under in February. She developed knee problems, though, that required surgery at the end of March. After having missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games, this brought on fears of also missing the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but the recovery went well. In June, she won two stages of the Volta a Catalunya in Spain.[12]

At the Paris Olympics, Wollaston won silver in the team pursuit (alongside Nicole Shields, Bryony Botha, and Emily Shearman), and a bronze medal in the omnium.[13]

At the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, Wollaston become the first New Zealand rider to win two world championship titles at the same track world championships,[14] taking gold medals in the elimination race[15][16] and the omnium[14][17][18] as well as bronze in the scratch race.[19]

Major results

Sources:[20][21]

Wollaston in 2019

Road

2018
National Junior Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial
2019
National Junior Championships
1st Road race
4th Time trial
2020
National Under-23 Championships
3rd Road race
4th Time trial
2021
5th Overall Watersley Womens Challenge
2022
1st Road race, National Under-23 Championships
1st Grand Prix du Morbihan Féminin
2nd Road race, National Championships
3rd Overall Belgium Tour
1st Points classification
1st Stage 1
3rd Overall Bretagne Ladies Tour
10th La Classique Morbihan
2023
National Championships
1st Criterium
1st Road race
1st Time trial, National Under-23 Championships
1st Overall Festival Elsy Jacobs
1st Points classification
1st Youth classification
1st Stage 2
1st Schwalbe Classic
2024
Volta a Catalunya
1st Stages 1 & 3
1st Stage 1 Tour Down Under

Track

2018
2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships
2019
UCI World Junior Championships
1st Individual pursuit
2nd Team pursuit
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Hong Kong
2023
2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
2024
UCI World Championships
1st Elimination
1st Omnium
3rd Scratch
Olympic Games
2nd Team pursuit
3rd Omnium

References

  1. ^ "Ally Wollaston". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. ^ "AG INSURANCE – SOUDAL QUICK-STEP TEAM". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Ally Wollaston". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  4. ^ McFadden, Suzanne (5 September 2019). "Kiwi sister trinity conquering the cycling world". Newsroom. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Three golds for cyclist Ally Wollaston". University of Waikato. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Athletes who choose Fondo l Meet road and track cyclist Ally Wollaston". Fondo. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Ally Wollaston : Bachelor of Laws (LLB)". University of Waikato. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Gold, silver, bronze for our athletes". Cambridge News. 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  9. ^ McFadden, Suzanne (5 September 2019). "Kiwi sisters conquering the cycling world". Stuff. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Archbold and Wollaston criterium honours in Christchurch". Cycling New Zealand. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  11. ^ Knuckey, Brodyn (27 July 2022). "NZ cycling team suffers cruel injury blow on eve of Comm Games". 1News. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  12. ^ Sewell, Jane (21 June 2024). "Recovered cycling star back on track for Paris". Newsroom. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Olympics 2024: Ally Wollaston wins omnium bronze medal to bring the curtain down on the Paris Games". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Wollaston joins select group after winning second world track title". Cycling New Zealand. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Ally Wollaston wins cycling world championship title". RNZ. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Wollaston betters cycling superstars to claim elimination race gold medal". Sportzhub. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Wollaston doubles down with second world gold in omnium". 1news. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Kiwi cyclist makes history at world champs". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Ally Wollaston makes bronze medal-winning start on the track". Cycling New Zealand. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Ally Wollaston". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Ally Wollaston". FirstCycling.com. Retrieved 14 May 2022.