Get back on the horse! The never give up story of Australian cyclist Harrison Bailey
There are some stories in cycling that really stand out as a symbol of commitment to the dream. The story of Australian cyclist Harrison Bailey is one of those. From humble beginnings in the Sydney club racing scene, Harrison did not possess the child prodigy like talents of some of his peers. What he did possess however was an undeniable passion and work ethic for road cycling.
Realising that pursuing a future in the sport meant a move to Europe and that he had to make his own rain as far as making such an opportunity a reality Harrison packed his bags to pursue a campaign in the French amateur ranks. Five years later his cycling journey is still evolving now at the UCI continental level with the same passion and drive of 14year old 'Gazz'.
Hear the story of how Harrison 'Gazz' Bailey blazed a trail to his cycling dream.
“Cycling is certainly a sport that rewards consistently putting in the work. You can’t just have the talent, you gotta have both the talent and put in the hard work. ”
On an unconventional and difficult journey chasing a dream Harrison Bailey opens up to one of his former DS’ Justin Morris about his journey from Sydney club racing through the Australian domestic scene, French amateur ranks and now up to the UCI continental level.
Harrison Bailey 2nd at the 262km 2019 Melbourne to Warnambool.
“None of the crashes stopped me. They hurt a, a lot. That’s for sure. But you know, the next day or two I would be back on the bike, I’d get my bike fixed and I’d have bandages all over me then I’d get back out amongst it again. ”
Success did not come easy for Harrison, rather it was a consistent, concerted commitment to a dream that was ignited from watching the Tour de France with his father as a young boy. Copping early ridicule in his cycling life for his admitted regular connections with the tarmac, Harrison used the mishaps on his journey as more fuel for his commitment to the cycling life. Learning from every mistake and seeing misfortune as an opportunity Harrison rose to become a regular on podiums at the top level of the sport in Australia. With podiums at races such as the Melbourne to Warnambool and the Tour of Tasmania.
Harrison now races for Team Electro Hiper Europa UCI continental cycling team.
Young Harrison Bailey with Northern Sydney Cycling Club junior coach Helmut Vetisch.
“The main reasons we went through Northern Sydney is because of the the junior pipeline that was associated with it.”
“I wasn’t that hot shot kid winning early on. It was a matter of slowly getting better at every step of the journey. ”
A breakthrough was a top result at the Tour of the Jura for ‘Gazz’ in 2019.
“I think when I have that objective or goal, I can kind of keep pushing myself. Once I lose sight of that, then that is when things can go off in the head. So I’ve always be conscious of setting new goals in the sport.”
Harrison was asked to chaperone Chris Froome at the 2018 L’etape Australia.
“I consider myself kind of like a more punchy sort of like sprinter type rider. Like I’m not, I’m not an out and out sprinter, um, and I can get over some of those shorter climbs quite well. ”
Harrison and host Justin Morris racing on home roads in Sydney, Australia.