On his way to Melbourne (Image credit: John Flynn)
It's never too late
Following in the finest tradition of Jamaican bobsleigh, the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta (which can be navigated by bike in 30 minutes) will send a five member cycling team to compete in Sunday's road race at the Commonwealth Games, and don't be surprised to hear a few Aussie accents among the Maltese contingent in the peloton! Cyclingnews' John Michael Flynn speaks with one of those Aussies, Nic Formosa.
In what presents itself as one of the truly heart-warming stories of the Games, 35-year-old Formosa will represent the country of his parents, fulfilling one of those 'never say never' dreams, which just so occasionally comes true in the world of sport.
"When I was young I had aspirations of riding Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, but it never eventuated," Formosa says, before adding, "Australia was just a hard place to get anywhere with that sort of stuff - I'm not a super talented cyclist, but I've got a pretty good work ethic, training ethic."
And this is something that has served him well, being a highly-respected member of the Queensland cycling community; the name Nic Formosa will be well known to several of the Australians competing in the Commonwealth Games road race. He enjoys the unique distinction of having competed both against Australian Commonwealth Games cyclist Allan Davis, and Allan's father, at the elite level - in the late 80's and early 90's the Mackay raised Formosa was one of Queensland's best emerging cycling talents, representing his state at numerous national championships.
Nic was still up there with the best until 1998, winning his state criterium and team time trial titles, before a shocking crash at the Tour of New Caledonia ended or at least altered his career. "I went over a cliff and broke my right tibial plateau," Formosa recalls of the life-defining accident.
