Floods thwart Chadwick for RaboDirect NZ Road Cycling Championships

Olympian Glen Chadwick, marooned in the floods across the Tasman, is a key defection for the fledgling Pure Black Racing team that makes their first official appearance at this weekend’s RaboDirect New Zealand Road Cycling Championships in Christchurch.

Chadwick, the first kiwi rider to sign-up to the new trade team with big ambitions to compete internationally, is based in Rockhampton. He was within an hour of his flight out before the floods forced the closure of the airport, meaning he will miss the championships where he was a key element in the team’s plans.

“It’s gutting for Glen because he had worked so hard to be ready for this race and he’s a rider that suits this tough course really well,” Said Pure Black Racing director Carl Williams.

“He was a critical part of our strategy for the weekend but we still have some strong guys that we can adapt with.”

The inclusion of trade teams Subway Pro Cycling with Olympian Peter Latham and Pure Black Racing will add an interesting element to the men’s road race over the Cashmere Hills on Sunday. The championships begin tomorrow with the time trial at Lincoln before the 123km women’s road race on Saturday, covering eight laps of the Cashmere-Hoon Hay circuit and the 187km men’s race with 13 laps including the climb up the Cashmere Hills on each lap.

While there is a load of Pro Tour talent in the fields, it’s the impact of the trade teams that holds considerable interest.

“It’s been a long road to get here,” said Williams. “We are really looking forward to getting the team on the road and the guys are jumping out of their skins to get out and ride together.

“The bottom line it (trade teams) will raise the level of the race. It will make it harder and faster. We are up against a quality field that will be very hard to beat on a course that is very hard.

“We have prepared well and are in good space for this Sunday. We are going to give it a good nudge. We are going to ride aggressively because that’s when we do best.”

Pure Black Racing will no doubt be attempting to set up their leader, former Pro Tour rider Tim Gudsell to win the title for the first time. Gudsell’s time with French team Francais de Jeux has been punctuated by injuries from a series of racing crashes, which ultimately terminated their association with the Te Awamutu rider last year.

“Our chances will come down to the leadership of people like Tim Gudsell. He’s put a lot of effort into this race. It is a title that has eluded him and it’s a race he feels strongly about. He is really fired up.

“He is a great leader on and off the bike and is a critical element to the building blocks of the team this year. It is very early days and it’s important to set up good structures at the start and Guddy provides a great level of direction both for the riders and the whole team.

“You have to be a rider of his calibre to be there at the finish on a course as hard as this.”

Williams expects both trade teams to ride aggressively and look for the break to force some of the high calibre individuals to chase.

The men’s field includes defending champion Jack Bauer (Christchurch), 2006 winner and Christchurch rider Hayden Roulston (HTC Columbia) and 2007 and 2008 champion from Rotorua, Julian Dean (Garmin Transitions). They will be joined by Team Sky pro team rider Greg Henderson, the RadioShack pair of Sam Bewley (Rotorua) and Jesse Sergent (Feilding), national series champion Jeremy Yates (Hawkes Bay) and US-based Jeremy Vennell (Team Bissell, Hawkes Bay).

The women’s field includes defending champion Rushlee Buchanan (Te Awamutu), US Series Champion Cath Cheatley (Colavita-Baci, Wanganui) who is a two-time winner and the 2003 champion from Christchurch, Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO). Other prominent riders include world track championship medallist Lauren Ellis (Ashburton), fellow Commonwealth Games riders Gemma Dudley (Levin) and Kaytee Boyd (Waiuku), the national criterium champion, mountain bike ace Rosara Joseph (Christchurch) and national series road champion Serena Sheridan (Hawkes Bay).

Details: www.elitenationals.co.nz