Rio medallist Georgia Simmerling trades in bike for skis

If there was a yearbook for 2016 Summer Olympians, Georgia Simmerling might be voted "Most likely to win a Winter Olympic medal in 2018."

That's because the Rio bronze medallist in track cycling team pursuit has stowed her bike and rejoined the Canadian national ski cross team following a 20-month break from the sport.

The West Vancouver-native switched from skis to bike following a nasty crash at the ski cross world championships in January 2015 that left her with a shattered wrist.

With her season over, Simmerling jumped on her bike to begin an improbable 19-month journey from newbie to Olympic medallist. It was an ascension national cycling endurance coach Craig Griffin called a long shot, even for an athlete with such raw ability.

Short turnaround

In Rio, Simmerling and her Canadian teammates defeated New Zealand in the bronze-medal race on Aug. 13.

As soon as the Olympics ended, Simmerling returned to Canada for a week-long vacation at her family cottage in Ontario, before returning to Vancouver to the flurry of social and sponsor excitement that awaits medal-winning athletes.

"I was trying to rest emotionally and physically from the Olympics and also get back in the gym for skiing, which was physically taxing on my body ... and at the same time see all my friends and sponsors," Simmerling said.

"It just was too much to fit in and I felt like I was going kind of crazy."

On Sept. 15, just one month and two days after her team's bronze-medal ride, the 27-year-old flew to Europe, returning to the structure of a national team schedule that she craves. The team is in Europe preparing for the first World Cup event Dec. 8-10 at Val Thorens, France.

The almost two years since Simmerling last trained or competed in ski cross add up to an unheard of break from any sport. Especially so for a five-time World Cup medallist who was ranked No. 2 in the world when she left.

"She completely removed herself from the sport," said Willy Raine, athletic director of Canada Ski Cross. "It's not that easy to just transition from one sport to another."

The challenge is greater given the stark differences between track cycling and ski cross.

"There's a lot of clutch decision making in ski cross that there is not in track cycling." Simmerling said. "Plans change very, very, very quickly and you need to react."

Raine said their first job is to prepare Simmerling for the sheer impact from skiing, and the forces that are produced from simply landing a jump.

"We're sort of treating her return to snow a little bit like somebody that had had a knee injury where we're progressing her through," Raine said.

Both Simmerling and Raine say everything is coming back quicker than anticipated.

"I'm fully confident that she is going to come back and be successful in ski cross and honest to god she's going to win a medal in 2018," Raine said.

This season marks the beginning of the Olympic qualification period for the next winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.  

A strong team

Simmerling rejoins a strong team that includes reigning Olympic champion Marielle Thompson and former world champion and Sochi silver medallist Kelsey Serwa. The men's team is led by veterans Chris Del Bosco, Brady Leman, and Dave Duncan.

Simmerling is the first Canadian to compete in a different sport at each of three different Olympic Games by adding tracking cycling (2016) to ski cross (2014 Sochi) and alpine skiing (2010 Vancouver).

Her intention is to consider track cycling again for Tokyo 2020, the next summer Olympics.