Commonwealth Games riders head Auckland 1000 cycle race field

Gordon McCauley and Melissa Holt are the headline entries for the Hudson Gavin & Martin Auckland 1000 Cycling road race on Sunday.

The Karaka – Kingseat based event is the sixth round of the RaboDirect National Points series.

The pair are both using the race as part of their build up to October’s New Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Aucklander McCauley has spent most of the past month in Australia competing in multi-day tours to hone his form, while Cambridge’s Holt has had to make do with local competition.

McCauley faces strong competition in the 104 kms men’s event on the same course which was used for the 2007 National Championships.

Trade teams Bici Vida, Black Peloton and Subway/Avanti all have several riders entered, but whether they can control the always aggressive McCauley to put one of their own riders in a winning position, remains to be seen.

Wellington’s Joe Cooper will be leading the Subway Avanti charge, while Karl Murray captains the Black Peloton team.

Other likely contenders are Elliot Crowther, John Atkinson and Aaron Strong, who were only separated by a rim width at the end of last Saturday’s 80 kms Bruce Kent Memorial Handicap race.

Holt’s most likely challenger in the women’s 78 km race could be Tauranga’s Courtney Lowe.

Supporting events start from 10.45 am, with the 50 men getting under way at 11.40 and the 25 women at 11.45am.