Rio Olympics triathlon hopeful Gillian Backhouse is lucky her bike took the brunt of a racing pile-up last weekend.
Backhouse escaped with cuts and bruises and will race as planned at Sunday's Oceania Cup race in Devonport.
A photo posted on Instagram over the weekend showed Backhouse in her shredded jersey.
She was racing at a cycling criterium in Brisbane when several riders hit the deck.
Her coach Stephen Moss said some of those involved in the pile-up were hospitalised with broken bones.
"But all she really had was a busted bike which we've been able to fix," Moss said.
"It could have been a whole lot worse, that's for sure."
Moss said Backhouse had been able to keep training for Devonport and would go into the race "pretty tired".
Backhouse has a busy schedule, with the World Triathlon Series opener on March 4-5 in Abu Dhabi.
She then will race at the Mooloolaba World Cup round a week later, ahead of the world series race on the Gold Coast.
The April 9-10 Gold Coast event also doubles as an Australian Olympic selection race.
In Devonport, Backhouse will go up against Chilean Barbara Riveros, a two-time Olympian.
Moss said Backhouse's confidence was growing after her impressive 13th last year at the Rio test event.
"Gill has a new-found belief - she knows she belongs," Moss said.
"She's not an athlete racing with hope. She's now an athlete racing with belief and we expect her to race accordingly, trying to get the results she deserves and not just hoping to get a result."
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