Christchurch cyclist Michael Vink has finished a commendable fifth place in the week-long International Thuringen Rundfahrt in Germany.

The prestigious Under-23 Tour attracted national teams from 12 countries as well as development squads from several professional teams.

Vink made his mark with a third placing on the opening prologue and remained in yellow jersey contention for much of the week, supported by his fellow BikeNZ teammates. He is part of the BikeNZ endurance track squad who are based in Belgium for racing and training on the track and road.

The final 158km stage was won in a bunch sprint by 2011 junior world omnium champion Caleb Ewan (AUS), his second stage win of the tour.

Vink finished in the peloton with the same time as the winner as did teammate Pieter Bulling (Invercargill).

Dutchman Dylan van Baarle, who has been signed to join Garmin-Sharp on the World Pro Tour next year, held on to claim the overall honours by just three seconds from Australian Damien Howson.

Vink finished in fifth place overall, 49 seconds behind van Baarle, on the back of outstanding form and some strong support work from his teammates.

The squad return to their base in Belgium and next week begin a block of track training at the velodrome in Ghent.

Results:
Stage 7: Caleb Ewan (AUS) 3:48.05, 1; Magnus Nielsen (DEN) same time, 2;
Owain Doull (GER) st, 3. Also New Zealanders: Michael Vink st, 31; Pieter
Bulling st 34; Hamish Schreurs at 4:33, 87. DNF: Josh Atkins, Cameron
Karwowski, Hayden McCormick.

Overall: Dylan van Baarle (NED) 25:36.36, 1; Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN) at
3sec, 2; Damien Howson (AUS) at 22s, 3. Also NZers: Michael Vink at 49s, 5;
Bulling at 43.04, 75; Schreurs at 56.38, 85.

A decade of systemic doping on the Tour De France begun in the mid 90s according to a controversial new French cycling magazine released today.

The magazine, titled ‘Not Normal?’, focuses on the in-depth research of cycling performance expert Antoine Vayer and reveals a measurement system around wattage power output that suggests doping engulfed the sport from 1994.

“This research is centered around the power wattage output of riders. We have clocked the results from all the top riders over the past 32 years via a series of radars at varying points at each stage and made a comparison to a “standard racer” of 70kg”, said Vayer – who is also an ex-Festina trainer and cycling author in France.

“We then scaled rider performance into four categories – normal, suspicious, miraculous and mutant. We’ve ranked this data visually in the magazine, encapsulating 32 years of Tour history, that clearly shows the heavy onset of doping from 1994”.

The findings cast heavy suspicion on renowned cyclists including like Cadel Evans, Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador and Marco Pantani.

The publication also features comment from three times winner Tour de France Greg LeMond, stripped 100m Olympic gold medalist Ben Johnson and Director-General of WADA, David Howman, on the doping scandals encapsulating sport.

Jaimie Fuller, Global Chairman of compression garment pioneer SKINS and founder of the Change Cycling Now pressure group, funded Vayer’s research as part of a continued effort to rid cycling of systemic doping.

“Make no bones about it, cycling is in crisis. SKINS has been at the forefront of collective action to end systemic doping in sport and the support of Antoine’s research and ‘Not Normal?’ is a further testament to our commitment,” said Fuller.

‘Not Normal?’ can be purchased through the SKINS website at www.SKINS.net/notnormal

New Zealand cyclists have enjoyed podium success on both sides of the Atlantic over the weekend.

London Olympians Sarah Walker and Marc Willers finished second and third respectively in the latest round of the USA BMX Nationals Series in Utah, as they prepare for next month’s UCI World Championships in Auckland.

In Scotland world number six ranked downhill mountain biker Brook MacDonald grabbed second place and compatriot Sam Blenkinsop fourth in the opening round of the UCI World Cup in Scotland.And in Germany, Christchurch cyclist Michael Vink lies in fourth place after the first stage of the International Thuringen Rundfahrt Under-23 road tour after finishing third in the opening prologue.

Walker, in her second competitive race for seven months after shoulder surgery, finished second to leading American Brook Crain in today’s grand final of the Nationals Series in Utah, while Willers, also back after injury, was third on the first day and fifth today.

Fellow Olympian Kurt Pickard was fifth on Sunday in his first competitive international start of the year.
In other BMX racing in Utah, Gisborne’s Nick Fox won two finals in the Pro A division, one below the pro elites class.

The BikeNZ High Performance squad go into a two week training block in USA before the next round of the series in Illinois.

McDonald celebrated his first World Cup with his new Trek World Racing team with a superb display to finish one second behind winner and 2010 world champion Gee Atherton at Fort William in the Nevis range.

"I'm so happy. This is my best result at Fort William and only my fifth career podium so far. To do this at my first World Cup for my new team is very special, couldn't be happier,” MacDonald said.

Wanganui’s Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) was also in top form to place fourth while another Kiwi Cameron Cole was 16th for his new team, Yeti Fox Shox, while George Brannigan (Trek World Racing), was 31st in his first major test after coming back from knee surgery.

Eight New Zealand men qualified for the top 80 for finals day, while Queenstown’s Alanna Columb was 19th in the women’s final.

The riders move to Italy for the first combined World cup with both cross country and downhill this weekend at Val de Sole.

Canterbury’s Vink followed up his strong prologue by finishing in the peloton in the first stage proper over 180kms to Erfurt in Germany.

He lies in fourth place just four seconds off the lead in the prestigious eight day tour that features most of the under-23 national teams from the major cycling powers.

Josh Atkins managed to finish in the peloton who were four seconds behind the winner today.
Tomorrow’s second stage is over 178kms.

Meanwhile BikeNZ’s men’s sprint squad are back in action later in the week in Paris.

Christchurch cyclist Michael Vink has made a strong start to the latest tour race for the BikeNZ squad in Germany today.

Vink has finished third in the 4.2km prologue in the International Thuringen Rhundfhart Under-23 tour of Germany.

This follows his victory in the recent UCI 1.2 category Philippe Coningsloo Memorial in Belgium.

Vink clocked 4:56.15 to finish three seconds behind winner Damien Howson (AUS) with Olympic omnium gold medallist Lasse Norman Hansen second.

The testing the eight-day International Thuringen Rundfahrt under-23 tour has attracted national teams from Australia, Denmark, USA, Sweden, Great Britain, Russia, Austria and New Zealand and development teams from many of the major professional teams.

Results, prologue, 4.2km: Damien Howson (AUS) 4:52.84, 1; Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN) 4:53.69, 2; Michael Vink (BikeNZ) 4:56.15, 3. Other New Zealanders: Alex Frame (Thuringer Energie) 5:04.00, 12; Pieter Bulling (BikeNZ) 5:12.55, 39; Josh Atkins (BikeNZ) 5:14.61, 45; Hayden McCormick (BikeNZ) 5:18.01, 57; Cameron Karwowski (BikeNZ) 5:19.91, 63; Hamish Scheurs (BikeNZ) 5:21.89, 71.

www.thueringenrundfahrt.de

More than 25 New Zealand cyclists will be in action in major international competition on the road, BMX and Mountain Bike this weekend.

Fresh from success in the Netherlands last week by Christchurch road cyclist Michael Vink, the BikeNZ endurance track squad take on one of their biggest tests in the prestigious Thuringen Rhundfhart Under-23 international tour of Germany starting on Sunday (NZ time).

In the professional ranks, Hayden Roulston (Radioshack Leopard) and Sam Bewley (Orica GreenEdge) line-up in the Tour de Suisse, starting on Sunday while Jack Bauer (Garmin Sharp) completes the Criterium du Dauphine.

Across the Atlantic the BikeNZ High Performance squad compete in the USA BMX Nationals round in Utah as they prepare for next month’s UCI World Championships in Auckland.

Meanwhile in Scotland the downhill riders get their long-awaited start to the UCI Mountain Bile World Cup at Fort William with 15 Kiwis on the start list.

The BikeNZ endurance track squad, based in Belgium with a mix of road and track training and racing, enjoyed a standout success when Vink won the prestigious UCI 1.2 category Philippe Coningsloo Memorial in Belgium.

They move to Germany this weekend for the eight-day International Thuringen Rundfahrt under-23 tour. It has attracted national teams from Australia, Denmark, USA, Sweden, Great Britain, Russia, Austria and New Zealand along with development teams from many of the major professional teams.

Australia’s Rohan Dennis, currently starting in the Criterium de Dauphine World Pro Tour, was last year’s overall winner while other champions have included leading pros Tony Martin  and John Degenkolb.
Vink heads the line-up with Cameron Karwowski, Hamish Schreuers, Hayden McCormick and Pieter Bulling, with former Tour of Southland winner Josh Atkins (Bontrager Livestrong) joining the team.

“This is a very strong tour, one of the most prestigious for under-23 riders and exceptionally strong,” BikeNZ Coach Dayle Cheatley said. “It will serve them well as they prepare for upcoming track duties, while it’s great to have Josh Atkins join us, one of the young New Zealand road riders in Europe who have been invited into the track squad’s races.”

It marks the introduction of double Olympic medallist Marc Ryan to duties of assistant Director Sportif working with the experienced Dirk Van Hove for the tour.

“Obviously Marc can’t compete as it is under-23 and is taking the opportunity to build his skill set with a very experienced guy in Dirk Van Hove who has a huge background in the sport in Europe.”

The BMX squad had a solid first-up competition in Nashville last weekend, for many their first competitive racing for several months.

The Nationals series moves to South Jordan in Utah this weekend with racing on Sunday and Monday (NZ time).

The full squad will be competing led by Olympians Sarah Walker, Marc Willers and Kurt Pickard, the in-form Trent Jones, Daniel Franks and Matt Cameron. Pukekohe’s Trent Woodcock and Gisborne’s Nic Fox are also racing.

Many of the leading Americans are racing along with world champions Sam Willoughby (Australia), Joris Daudet (France) and Maris Strombergs (Latvia) in the men and Mariana Pajon (Colombia) and Caroline Buchanan (Australia) in the women.

“I was pleased with the first-up racing last weekend,” said BMX Coach Ryan Hollows. “They are all still in heavy training at this stage but this level of racing is important for our preparations.

“There are no big ramps in these competitions, and therefore the racing is fast and physical which is just what we need.”

Hollows said he expects further improvements from his riders over the next three weeks.

Perched in the Nevis range of the Scottish Highlands, Fort William is rated one of the best gravity tracks and ideal venue for the opening round for downhillers in the UCI World Cup.

It is a track where New Zealanders have performed strongly with world number six Brook MacDonald third two years ago, Christchurch’s Cameron Cole second in 2010 and Sam Blenkinsop third in 2009.

MacDonald and fellow Hawkes Bay rider George Brannigan, ranked eighth, have their first World Cup starts for Trek World Racing, Cole will debut for Yeti Fox Shox and Blenkinsop turns out again for Lapierre International.

“The track walk has been done yesterday and we are all hanging to get riding and that the World Cup Number One is finally here. Bring it on,” MacDonald said.

There are a stack of other Kiwis lining up with 12 men and three women in Veronique Sandler (Nelson), Sophie Tyas (Coatesville) and Alanna Columb (Queenstown) all in action.

There is training tomorrow, official seeding run and qualifying on Sunday and racing on Monday (NZ time).

BikeNZ Olympian Shane Archbold has taken no time to strike for his new professional team with victory in stage two of the An Post Ras Tour of Ireland today.

The former world championship medallist in the omnium sprinted his way to a narrow victory for his new Belgium-based UCI Continental team An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly.

The Kiwi rider led the sprint coming into the final stretch and edged out the challenge from three international riders in the 160km stage from Longford to Nenagh near Limerick.

The eight-stage travels from around much of Ireland and involves a number of international teams, with fellow New Zealanders Michael Northey and James Williamson also competing for their UCI Continental team NODE 4 Giordana Racing.

It was an overcast day but the rain held off and with no categorised climbs, a sprint finish was predicted.

Two early breaks were caught before a select group of seven joined a four-strong break 5km from the finish with Archbold proving the quickest in the dash to the line.

“I’m thrilled with the win. I was injured at the start of the year and haven’t had too much racing with the way the injury fell but my form has come good. I spent the last three weeks in Holland getting into good shape so it seems to have paid off,” Archbold said.

“It was a great team effort today. We missed the vital breakaway yesterday so we were disappointed about that and made sure we had two riders in every breakaway today. Thankfully it worked and we’ll just keep on focusing on stage wins for the rest of the week.”

Fellow BikeNZ rider Aaron Gate is also a member of An Post Sean Kelly but not included in the line-up this week, having been a member of the national team racing in the Olympias Tour in The Netherlands.

It was redemption today for Tom Hubbard from the Homestyle Cycling Team as he won the third round of the Benchmark Homes Elite Cycling Series, the 133 kilometre the Parry Field Lawyers-Ocean Ridge Classic.

Hubbard was second in the previous round last month in Nelson and had ‘sleepless nights’ thinking about the mistakes he made so was very keen to make amends on today’s challenging Hanmer Springs to Kaikoura course.

“The goal was to win everything today,” Hubbard said. “We really wanted to win the individual race, take both jerseys (the under 23 and elite jerseys), and win the teams award; to do it was great.”
Hubbard said the hilly nature of the course suited his young team and the team executed its plan just as they had discussed.

“It just went like we talked about. We wanted a get someone up the road to take the pressure off chasing and working and that’s exactly what happened,” he said.

After a number of attacks that didn’t stick young national under 17 representative Ben Johnstone from Hubbard’s Homestyle team joined L&M Racings Nick Lovegrove and Sean Finning (H&J Smiths) in a break that was only caught with just over 30 kilometres left of racing.

Homestyle then had Mitchell Podmore and Christchurch Boys High School student Adam Bull in the front bunch so were well positioned leading into the closing kilometres of racing.

“With Ben up the road I could just sit in the bunch and wait for the moment to launch something. We forced a selection on the hardest climb at about the 74 kilometre mark and then Mitchell and Adam looked after me well so I could save everything for the final climb to the finish line.”

Hubbard dropped James Early (Benchmark Homes), series leader Joe Chapman (L & M Group Racing) and round one winner Brad Evans (Fitlab) in the steep final 100 metres leading to the finish line to claim the win in two hours and fifty one minutes.

Today really was about redemption for Nelson,” he said. “I was really disappointed about coming second there and wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again.”

Sophie Williamson (H & J Smiths) had a good final winning hit out before she leaves next week to head to San Francisco in the United States to start a contract with women’s pro team Vanderkitten.

After a slow start to 2013 due to injury Williamson has had good recent results that were capped off today with a win in the 99 kilometre women’s race, beating Olympian and series leader Lauren Ellis (Benchmark Homes) in a very tight uphill sprint to the line.

“It wasn’t the ideal start to the year, but the form seems to be coming along alright and I’m really excited to be heading away (to the US) on Wednesday,” Williamson said.

Williamson, who said she was feeling good on the climbs all day, was part of a breakaway group of six riders that contested the final climb to the finish line that included Ellis, round one winner Sharlotte Lucas (Benchmark Homes) who is lying second in the series, Kerri-Anne Torkler (Soul Star Racing), Hayley Mercer (Benchmark Homes) and Laura Fairweather (Altherm Window Systems).

“Coming into the last 10 kilometres there were three Benchmark girls and they were just attacking one after the other and that made it pretty hard, but it worked out ok in the end all coming into the final climb all together and I was stoked to get the win,” she said.

Glen Rewi (Kiwi Style Bike Tours) had the best climbing legs on the final hill to grab a win in the 133 kilometre masters race from Team Thule Cycling team mates Brad McFarlane and Blair Suthridge and Warmup Cycling’s Darren Burns.

World Masters record holder on the track for the individual pursuit, Reon Park (Team Calder Stewart), had a brave solo breakaway attempt only caught in the last three kilometres by a chasing bunch of 18 riders that hit the final climb together.
 

Rewi was ‘ecstatic’ to get the win in an event he says he had been targeting all season on a course he really likes.

“I was really keen to do well in this race,” he said. “I’ve always liked this course but after Reon (Park) attacked and got away at the half way point I thought any chance of winning was over.”

Park had the misfortune of suffering a slow puncture over the closing kilometres and once he was reeled in and the leaders hit the bottom of the final climb Rewi said he ‘hit it hard’ saying it was ‘all or nothing’ with the finish line in sight.

“I managed to hold on to take the win so I’m very relived as its pits me back in contention overall.”

Rewi’s win moves him up to second overall behind overall masters leader Lee Johnstone (Warmup Cycling) who finished fourteenth, picking up a valuable two points to remain four points clear of Rewi , five ahead of Stuthridge and six ahead of Mark Spessot (Cycle World). 

Johnstone keeps the 35 to 44 masters classification jersey while Stuthridge has taken the over 45 jersey off the shoulders of Spessot.

The series takes a break over the winter until resuming in Hokitika on the West Coast on 10 August.

Results
Parry Field Ocean Ridge Classic elite men
1 Tom Hubbard Homestyle Under 23 2:51:29  
2 James Early Benchmark Homes Elite +00:05  
3 Joe Chapman L&M Group Racing Elite +00:06  
4 Brad Evans Fitlab Under 23 +00:10  
5 Grayson Napier Fitlab Under 23 +00:13

Masters Men
1 Glen Rewi Kiwi Style Bike Tours Master 35-44 3:02:27 
2 Brad McFarlane Team Thule Cycling Master 35-44+00:05 
3 Blair Stuthridge  Team Thule Cycling Master 45+ +00:07 
4 Darron Burns Warmup Cycling Team Master 45+ +00:09 
5 David Rush Cycle World  Master 45+ +00:10

Women
1 Sophie Williamson H&J's Outdoor World Avanti 2:41:32  
2 Lauren Ellis Benchmark Homes same time  
3 Sharlotte Lucas Benchmark Homes +00:01  
4 Kerri-Anne Torkler Soul Star Racing +00:02  
5 Haley Mercer Benchmark Homes +00:21

BikeNZ will field an impressive eight-strong team to contest the prestigious Olympias Tour in the Netherlands starting on Monday (NZ time).

The week-long Tour of The Netherlands is a UCI 2.2 category event which attracts an invited group of 16 teams made up of leading Pro Continental teams as well as some national combinations including Australia and New Zealand.

The tour will be the first outing for the BikeNZ endurance track squad based in nearby Belgium as they begin their campaign towards next year’s Commonwealth Games.

The team also includes several New Zealand road riders who are on contracts in Europe and have taken the opportunity to compete in a strong event as part of the national team.

BikeNZ head coach Dayle Cheatley said it is an excellent event to start their overall campaign.

“Our squad based in Belgium has earned a good reputation over the last two or three years with race promoters in Europe and therefore our campaign head, Stephen Connell has done a great job working to gain invitations to these top events,” Cheatley said.

“Our experience is that endurance track riders benefit significantly from a strong road base. Training and racing at this level on the road in Europe is something we can’t replicate at home.

“Additionally we want to work with our young road riders as well. Tours like this offer a chance for us to include them into our system and provide them a level of riding that they may not be able to get with their respective pro or semi-pro teams.”

The team will be headed by experienced double Olympic medallist Marc Ryan, who has taken up a leadership role with the squad. He will be joined by fellow track endurance riders Michael Vink, Cameron Karwowski, Hamish Schreurs and Hayden McCormick, who is splitting his time with the Lotto Belisol development team.

The road riders taking part are Alex Frame, currently with the Thuringer Energie team in Germany, Kieran Hambrook who riding for T.palm Wallon in Belgium and the experienced Clinton Avery, who is based in Belgium and rides for Champion Systems.

The tour, which began in 1909, was formally called the Olympias Tour when it became a fixture in 1927 as a forerunner to the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. It has been an annual event since 1955 and many top names have won the Tour including current Rabobank professionals Jetse Bol and Lars Boom and former track world champion Taylor Phinney (BMC).

The event begins with a 3.2km prologue on the south coast of the Netherlands, followed by a 180km stage near Amsterdam, a 173km stage to Alkmaar in the north, a 158km stage to Gendringer on the western border with Germany, a 192 km stage to Voerendaal in the south close to Belgium and Germany before a 14km individual time trial and final 80km lap final in Reuver on the western border with Germany.

“It is predominantly flat but a bit like the Tour of Southland, it is more about managing the strong winds that often blow,” Cheatley said.

“The race is ideal for is and going forward it fits well with our plans in the build-up to next year’s Commonwealth Games and on to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“And it is an ideal way to provide opportunities for our riders looking to develop a career on the road.”

Touring professional and multiple world championship medal winner Linda Villumsen, Olympian Lauren Ellis and Sophie Williamson, who has signed with US based women’s pro team Vanderkitten, head the largest women’s field ever assembled for a Benchmark Homes Elite Cycling Series round on Saturday, the Parry Field Lawyers-Ocean Ridge Classic.

A strong women’s field of six teams is tackling the 99 kilometre route that starts just north of Culverden and ends at the exclusive Ocean Ridge sub division just south of Kaikoura. The route includes a number of challenging climbs and technical descents that will challenge riders and split up the fields.

Villumsen is getting some racing and training in prior to joining her new professional team Wiggle Honda in Europe in June, while Williamson, who had injury keeping her off her bike at the start of the year, registered impressive wins in the Graperide and Club Nationals last month as she builds up to heading overseas to join US based women’s pro team Vanderkitten.

The women’s field also includes first round winner Sharlotte Lucas (Benchmark Homes), who lies second in the series, just two points behind her teammate Ellis, former series winner Soul Star Racing’s Karen Fulton, national Under 19 representative Maddi Campbell (Altherm Window Systems) the experienced Tracy Clark (Pegasus Thule), who won the recent Masters 3 National Club Championships road race and Laura Fairweather, a gold medallist on the track as a pilot at the London Paralympics.

The elite men and masters fields have good numbers for their 123 kilometre races that start in Hanmer Springs with the first 10 kilometres neutralised until riders hit State Highway Seven just after the Ferry Crossing Bridge.

Joe Chapman (L&M Group Racing) has not won a round yet, but after finishing third and sixth in the first two rounds he leads the elite men’s series from Homestyle’s Tom Hubbard. The top of the points table is very close with round one’s winner Brad Evans (Fitlab), Tim Rush (Team Calder Stewart Road) and the second round’s winner Tom Davison (Scotty Browns-Vision Systems) all locked together only six points behind Hubbard.

Chapman is a proven climber, having won the Powernet Tour of Southland climber’s jersey, and having competed in the recent OCBC Cycle Singapore Professional Criterium with key riders from his L&M Group Racing team he will be looking for his first win in the series to consolidate his hold on the elite men’s leader’s jersey.

L&M Group Racing have a strong team to support Chapman that includes his brothers Anthony and Tim, Scott Thomas who finished the tough final climb in the last round just ahead of him, the well performed Nick Lovegrove and Sam Steele.

Hubbard leads the under 23 classification from Evans and has a young team of mainly under 23 riders to support him that includes Christchurch Boy’s High School student Adam Bull who was part of the winning team in last month’s Tour of New Zealand.

With Davison away overseas racing on the North America triathlon professional circuit the Scotty Browns-Vision Systems team will look to former Olympian Robin Reid to feature on Saturday. Reid had won the Forrest GrapeRide in record time the day before the previous round’s racing, an effort that took its toll on the Athens Olympian in the final stages of the race won by Davison. 

Warmup Cycling’s Lee Johnstone has won the first two rounds of the series’ master’s races to take a dominating lead over Mark Spessot (Cycle World), Justin Sims (Armitage Williams), Brendon Mathews (Team Tineli Masters) and Blair Stuthridge (Team Thule Cycling) into Saturdays race.

While the masters category is split into two jersey classifications for thirty five to forty four years, and over forty five, there is serious kudos as to where riders finish in the final placings.

Johnstone currently wears the thirty five to forty four classification jersey with Sims lying second (third overall) while Spessot holds the over forty five jersey with Stuthridge his closest rival.

The Hanmer to Kaikoura course has an impressive list of previous winners that includes Brain Fowler in 2006, current professional Hayden Roulston, five time national road race champion Gordon McCauley who has won it twice and Josh Atkins, who is currently racing in Europe.

BikeNZ will be on the lookout for a new sprint coach after the resignation this week by national coach Justin Grace.

The former Masters World Champion sprinter has cited personal reasons for his decision to step down from the position, after establishing a world class programme with a young New Zealand squad over the last five years.

Grace said the lengthy time away from his family was no longer sustainable, while he had also voiced some concerns at the effects of funding limitations on the burgeoning sprint programme.

“It’s been a situation that I have been thinking about a lot since the Olympics,” Grace said. “Since I began this role I have been away on average 200 days a year and the toll is unfair on my wife and family.

“I am very passionate about this programme and I would dearly love to continue in the role to help the sprinters stand on the podium in Rio. But the burden on the family is not fair on them and something had to give.”

BikeNZ High Performance Director Mark Elliott said the organisation was saddened with Grace’s decision but understands his position.

“Justin has been responsible for developing the sprint programme from scratch to its current high world ranking. They are now ranked second in track priorities to the men’s endurance group looking ahead to the Rio Olympics,” Elliott said.

“Justin believed fervently that New Zealand could produce world class sprinters in this sport and has driven this programme with a single-minded and uncompromising passion.

“That approach comes with a price and we want to acknowledge his tremendous contribution and the support from his wife and family.”

Elliott said that a programme of sports science, strength and conditioning and coach support had been well established and would cater for the riders in the immediate future.

“We will look at our short term needs and how we can fill them with the squad to head to Europe later this month for training and racing but the medium term goal would ideally be for a fulltime sprint coach when the centralised programme gets underway in Cambridge next year.”

Queenstown’s Rabbit Ridge Bike Resort got the thumbs up at the soft launch yesterday (Saturday 27 April) when members of the local biking community got to check out the newly-constructed trails.

Some last minute rain ensured the trails were ‘bedded in’ and locals of all ages and experiences took to the trails with vigour.

From experienced downhill bikers to families with children, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to test trails including the beginner ‘Bunny’ trail and intermediate Donnas Dually track.

The invitation-only event saw bikers, bike shop owners and front line staff experience the resort for the first time. Rabbit Ridge is a joint venture by local bike business Around the Basin and Gibbston Valley Winery and will be the area’s only year-round dedicated and serviced bike resort.

Rabbit Ridge Manager Steve Norton said it was great to finally see the local biking community being “thrilled” to have more local terrain to discover.

“It will take some time for the trails to settle in but in the meantime there is some great riding to be had out here,” he said.

Tours of Rabbit Ridge will be available from Monday (April 29 2013) and include return transport from Queenstown, shuttles to the top of the bike resort, refreshments on site and some include coaching from experienced bikers.

Gibbston Valley Winery CEO Greg Hunt officially launched the resort and said he had ‘quickly come up to speed’ on what makes a good bike resort.

“When I first showed the guys (Steve and John) the land I was pleasantly surprised when they said it was exceptionally well suited for a bike resort,” said Mr Hunt.

“The terrain, views and proximity to Queenstown make it perfect and it’s great to see all their hard work pay off. The trails are a fantastic addition to the local biking scene.

“I have to give John and Steve full credit for their vision and what they have created to date on the station.”

Ultimately Rabbit Ridge will feature 30km of tracks suitable for all levels of riders and initial trails include a new bike trail linking the resort with Gibbston Valley Winery.

While perfect for families and entry level bikers, it also has more challenging trails for experienced riders, all set in a spectacular remote setting.

Locals eagerly wanting to try out the new resort will be able to ride the trails on Free Locals Days scheduled for the first Saturday of every month, starting May 4.

A grand opening is planned for September when the park will be officially opened to the public when trails are fully constructed and bedded in.

“The trails mark just the tip of the iceberg for what’s planned here and eventually it will be a fully-functioning bike resort with accommodation, a café as well as other activities such as hiking, rock climbing, fly fishing, archery and many others suitable to this environment,” Mr Hunt added.


About Gibbston Valley Winery
Gibbston Valley Winery is a pioneer in the wine industry in Central Otago and is home to New Zealand’s largest and innovative wine cave, available for wine tours, private functions, weddings and special occasions, the new Barrel Room for C&I functions and weddings, and a retail outlet. The multi award-winning winery expanded in December 2012 when it opened the Vintners Kitchen experience and General Store at the Gibbston winery, and the Tasting Room in Arrowtown.

About Rabbit Ridge Bike Resort and Around the Basin
Rabbit Ridge Resort is managed by Steve Norton from Around the Basin in conjunction with Gibbston Valley Winery. Around the Basin Ltd offers supported and guided cycle adventures as well as a cycle shuttle service within the Wakatipu Basin and Southern Lakes regions including the Rabbit Ridge Bike Park Around the Basin (ATB) caters for beginner and intermediate riders wanting a quality cycling experience in one of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand, renowned for its spectacular scenery. Packages for guided riding experiences will be available from Monday April 29 2013. Bookings can be made at www.rabbitridge.co.nz

Troy, a 24 year old pro cyclist from Sydney, slipped off the front of the peloton early in the stage and motored away to a good gap and never looked back as he tucked into time trial mode to ride the strong peloton off his wheel.

"I train a lot solo, so today it was just me doing my training ride. I went pretty hard in the first 20minutes to get that initial gap, but after that I just cruised the rest of the way pushing between 240-320 watts", says Troy about his stage win. "It was a good tail wind and good road, that my average speed was high throughout, I had to stop for a train at one point but other than that it was a fast stage. I sat up quite a bit towards the end and I was lucky to cross the line still 15 seconds in front of a charging group".

Going over the final gut-buster with 5km to the finish line, an elite selection of five riders shot clear to fight out for second.  Pro Bike CS Racing's Fu Shiu Cheung (the winner of the 2013 Tour of Matabungkay) outsprinted Lee Rodgers (Lapierre Asia Racing). Japanese riders Yoshihiro Takahashi (Team CB) and Kyosuke Takei (Forza) rounded out the top five with strong riding over the steep climb. Peter Pouly (Bike Net Training Camp), more built for the longer climbs, had to settle for sixth.

How it unfolded

It was a muggy morning in the vast city of Bangkok, when riders lined up for the 150km stage, neutral 20km rollout before the real racing action would begin at the Friendship Tour of Thailand.

With a big tail wind blowing, the pace of the peloton was always high, seldom dropping below 40km/h, with the speeds usually in excess of 50km/h over bumpy roads. When Michael Troy slipped away, it was almost un-noticed and was not taken seriously. Even when the gap quickly went out to 1.10 and then suddenly to 3.20, the peloton thought one single rider could not possibly last that long solo in the simmering Thailand heat.

The peloton could never organize a solid consistent chase, with speeds fluctuating greatly. The chase effort was not helped with several key riders including Lee Rodgers and several riders from the DirectAsia.com team were involved in crashes.  The Indian Specialized KYNKYNK cycling team were initially mounting a good chase working in tandem with Lewis Fellas (CCN), but the effort soon took its toll. Throughout the stage there were constantly riders looking to make a breakaway and form their own chase groups, however the peloton always reeled them back in.

Peter Pouly, a world class climber, tried to make a selection on the final short steep climb and succeeded. However, one of the Japanese riders rode clear at the top. Pouly finished sixth, with Specialized KYNKYNY's Lokesh Narasimhachar coming in 7th. Choi Heng Wa (TROPIX-CRONUS) led home the next group for 8th position just ahead of Taylor Price.

Tomorrow's stage looks to be a race of attrition with estimates of upwards of five hours to complete the 170kms that is going to be dished out for the riders. It could be a day for Hong Kong's Pro Bike CS riders as it features numerous climbs, including a 14km climb at about 5-6% average gradient. The course also throws in a few sharp kickers to keep things honest; beginning with the hill that was used for the finish of Stage two that could split the peloton quite early on. Will Michael Troy keep on asserting his cycling prowess or will he let others take the limelight? Stay tuned for the next update.

More info on the Friendship Tour, visit the official website.