Georgia Baker may have won multiple world championship medals and left the last Commonwealth Games as a triple champion, but knows elite athletes are often judged by just one criteria.
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As she prepares for a possible third Olympic Games, the 2022 Tasmanian athlete of the year said she understands the sporting public's blinkered perspective.
"The Olympics have always been such a big thing," Baker said. "Even when I was a young girl watching athletes in all different sports, it was always all about the Olympics. There's such a big hype around it. Which I think is really cool and it's about celebrating sport.
"The Olympics are so different because everyone is at their absolute A-game - it is different to world champs. I can understand why the hype is there and it's a pretty cool thing. It sucks that you have good results in other events and then you get to the Olympics and think 'I haven't quite nailed it'. So definitely, Paris is that opportunity."
With previous Olympic campaigns hampered by a crash in Rio and COVID in Tokyo, the 29-year-old views the French capital with a refreshing outlook.
"I feel like I've learned so much along the way that I know what the Olympics is like. I know the build-up and the preparation and the energy which is something you don't really feel at any other competition. I'm prepared that way, now it's more about making sure I'm physically prepared.
"So much has got to go right for it to be perfect - injuries, illness, all that - and no preparation is going to be perfect so I've learned to just do what I can with what I've got and I should be OK."
Despite the setbacks and a catalogue of health issues including an abnormal heart rate, Baker was part of team pursuit fifth-place finishes at both previous Olympics and learned valuable lessons, especially from the high-speed training crash on the eve of competition in 2016.
"Rio made me a resilient athlete, which I suppose is a positive, but I feel the negatives override the positives just because of how that made me feel. I felt very responsible for that and it was something that played on my mind a lot after and really affected my confidence.
"I am over it now but it took me a while because I felt like I let everyone down and I still don't like that. I'm OK with letting myself down, I can get over that, but when others are involved, that's what I really struggle with. I did learn a lot from that.
"In Tokyo I learned more about trusting and backing myself. I've been riding for a long time and I think I know what I need to be good, and need to back that more. And that's something I've tried to carry on from Tokyo.
"I have had lots of really good coaches but I feel now it's more like a partnership rather than being told what to do and me just doing it. I can have discussions. That's more about my maturity as an athlete I suppose."
A junior and senior track world champion, Baker starred at her second Commonwealth Games last year, leaving Birmingham with gold medals in the team pursuit, points race and road race.
She followed up with another exhausting WorldTour road schedule with Team Jayco AlUla, competing in a succession of stage races across three continents.
A return to the track saw her complete a perfect schedule in Melbourne last weekend, claiming the national omnium and madison championships while also taking home the prestigious Women's Austral Race before being named women's track cyclist of the year by AusCycling.
She will continue the dual-existence in 2024 but with a solid target in focus.
"My main goal is the track in Paris," she said. "Obviously I have goals on the road - I'd love to have a crack at the time trial at nationals. I've also had a look at the Olympic program and it's fairly jam-packed but I'd love to put my hand up for a time trial spot there. I'll train hard, focus and do my best and if it works out, it works out, but if it doesn't that's OK, at least I tried.
"Obviously, everyone says 'I want to win an Olympic gold medal' and that's what I want. But they're really hard to come by! I'll be content if we know we've done everything we can and we've done the best we possibly can. I don't think you can be disappointed with that.
"If you've ticked all the boxes and raced how you wanted to race and people were just better than you on the day then I don't think you can be upset because that's sport. But obviously you go to win and I will be going there to win for sure.
"You've just got to control what you can control. It's a cliché but it's true. You can't stress about stuff you can't control."
The team pursuit, omnium and madison could all be on the agenda if Baker secures a spot on the Olympic team.
The coaching of former world champion Matthew Gilmore has been instrumental in Baker's nomination of her favourite event.
"Probably madison. I learned so much from Matt, we're so lucky to have him in Tassie.
"I think I'm just really passionate about the event. I feel I've raced it from the very first women's race and I'd always enjoyed watching the men racing it. So when there was a women's madison as well I thought 'this is so cool'. So I love it and everything about it.
"It's chaotic but controlled and you have to be really switched on because there's so much that can go wrong really quickly. It's not just physically demanding but mentally as well so you come off the track exhausted in all ways, it's so intense."
Baker competed in both track and road world championships in Glasgow with her two silver medals (madison and points race) earning another Tasmanian Athlete of the Year nomination.
She intends to ride road nationals and the Tour Down Under followed by a track world cup in Adelaide before heading to her European base in Girona to team up with Jayco AlUla.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
