[3] She started cycling competitively when she was 26 and in 2002 received a full scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
[4] For ten years, Gollan made her living on part-time work and her AIS stipend in order to pursue the sport.
Gollan timed her attack on the ninth of tenth laps and overtook the tiring leaders.
She was eager to move back to Italy; she lived 10 km from Bergamo, close to where the AIS team was based and the friends she made in Novellara.
[5] In July 2006, CyclingNews.com called her, Oenone Wood and Sara Carrigan "Australia's current top riders".