Boyd Best of NZ Cyclists in US Race, Cheatley Injured in Crash
Waiuku’s Kaytee Boyd moved into contention with a strong performance on the third stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in USA today.
Boyd was ninth overall, given the same time of the winner and world champion Giorgia Bronzini in the 107km Cannon Falls Road Race near Minneapolis. This moves her to 15th overall, 1m13s down on the leader Kristin Armstrong, a former Olympic gold medallist.
Boyd is part of the BikeNZ endurance track squad who are using the road racing in USA as build-up to the track season towards next year’s London Olympics.
The best placed of all the kiwis in the race is Te Awamutu’s Rushlee Buchanan, riding for her pro tour team Colavita Forno, who finished ninth today to retain her lead in the young rider category.
It was not such good news for her teammate and fellow New Zealander Cath Cheatley who crashed out of the tour in last night’s criterium. The national champion landed heavily on the slippery wet surface and has broken bones in her pelvis that could have her sidelined for at least six weeks. The Wanganui rider, who is defending her US national series title, had just returned to top level racing after a knee injury.
Of the other BikeNZ riders Rosara Joseph was 19th today 2m39s back on the winner over the hilly circuit with Jaime Nielsen and Lauren Ellis further back after helping their teammates remain in contention earlier on the stage.
Canterbury’s Joanne Kiesanowski, riding for the American Team TIBCO, finished just ahead of Nielsen.
Tomorrow’s fourth stage is a further 56km criterium around the streets of uptown Minneapolis.
Meanwhile Aaron Gate remains in the hunt for the sprint points jersey after the fourth stage of the Thuringen Rundfarht Under-23 cycle tour in Germany.
The team worked hard to set up Gate for the intermediate sprint points on the hilly 144km stage to Ohrdruf which featured three category one climbs. He earned points at two of the intermediate sprints to retain third place overall in the points race on seven, five behind leaver Michael Humbert (GER).
Ashburton’s Jason Christie was again the best of the New Zealanders finishing 1m35s down on the winner Tobias Ludvigsson, the Swedish national junior champion, who held off the chasing pack to win in 3:45.48. Christie has dropped to 3:27 behind the leader, Australian Jay McCarthy who retained his lead despite a crash near the finish.
And a crash by kiwi Julian Dean didn’t prevent his teammate Garmin-Cervelo Tyler Farrar from winning the second stage of ZLM Tour in The Netherlands.
Dean had just returned to strong form in last week’s Criterium du Dauphine and is using this week as a final test with Farrar before selection for next month’s Tour de France.
Fellow New Zealander Hayden Roulston is competing in the same tour for HTC Highroad while Greg Henderson (Team Sky)is racing in the Tour de Suisse, as all look for potential starts in the Tour de France.