hi there,

what a scorcher of a day we had today.. I’ve ridden in some crazy climates, both hot and cold but today was the hottest day I’ve ever experienced on a bike.. at one stage half way through the stage i seen 50 degrees on my srm… definitely not riding weather if you ask me!

we had a dirty head wind all day today. with the stage being only 150k we should have easily been done and dusted in 3.5hrs.. but due to the wind we were on the bike for close to 5hrs.. at one point we had an average of 24k/hr! you could hear the moans within the peleton i can tell you… not due to the length of time on the bike, but just knowing that we were all going to look like raisins by the time we had finished!

i joked with graeme brown today when we were all checking the temperature that if it hit 50 we would climb off.. that was when it was 40 degrees.. none of us thought it would hit 50 though, and i guess the joke was on us cause none of us could actually stop.. by the time we had finished the majority of the peleton looked as if we had been dragged through a salt factory. the tops were basically white, and even if your not a typical salter in warm weather, you had salt on your top and shorts today!

right now for the race.. with the head wind we had, any break that went up the road could basically take as much time as they wanted to because they were always going to come back.. sure enough 5 brave riders attacked sometime after the start and went straight out to 5mins. what this did to the peleton was put everyone to sleep. everyone knew it would be too hard out there. one with the heat, and also the head wind.. it wasn’t all as easy as it sounds with us all dozing off in the peleton.. there was a section of cross wind after 40kms and garmin put it in the gutter. the bunch split into 5 groups. no one really knew how serious garmin were. with still 100k of the race to go, it would be tough to keep going… if they did it would have been perfect with us as we had 5 riders in the front group of 20 riders… they obviously reconsidered a short while later and we all sat up and the bunch re grouped..

the front of the race by this stage had over 10mins and were going pretty strong.. with about 40kms to go the teams got organized and started to chase the group in front. in about 15k the break went from being 10min in front to under 5min.. which meant they were totally fried! which then meant the peleton knew they wouldn’t last so it was back into sleepy mode before the final push to the line..

we had our sprinter to look after today. daniele benatti.. i had to place him in a good position heading towards the line.. with the head wind quite strong though, timing was everything.. there was some real nervous riders out there today. some freaking idiots too! hendy hit the deck early in the race, and coming into the finish he crashed again.. i was so lucky i was on the front when the crash happened. jesse pulled both myself and benatti into the top 20 and i took benatti to the front with 1k to go.. it was too early, but it turned out to be a good move with the crash happening just as i swung off..

benatti run 5th today… which was a pretty good effort with no real lead out train.. he isn’t in top form either so to be right up there means his form is improving and gives us all confidence heading into day 2 of the tour..

funny story today.. those who know jens voight from our team will know he has been around the block many times before.. he is very respected within the peleton, probably more due to being the only pro cyclist with 6 kids! 6!!!! he is also 40yrs old, and still ticking! one of the young guys from the AIS team was itching to attack at the start.. jens was next to him and he said to jens that he really wanted to attack.. after a few grandad jens words, the young fella rolled back a bit, then he was off! jens was telling the story after the stage and it was hilarious.. all the young guy needed was a few jens words of encouragement and he was gone… he is probably cursing at him now though, but hats off to him for having a crack..

right as for myself. i felt good.. nothing super but enough to say that my form is right where it should be in my first race of the year. it was tough with the heat though, ill admit that! i was in the front group when it split so i was happy with that.. to be honest when we all sat up i was relieved.. cause it would have been a very long day otherwise..

tomorrow we have really tough stage finishing in stirling.. it was tough last year with us only doing 2 laps of the tough course.. this year we do 3 laps and we do it after being fried for 5hrs today.. im looking forward to it, but right now im looking forward to shutting my eyes and sleeping..

ill update tomorrow as to how it goes.. cheers for the support out there, its so great to hear kiwis on the side of the road!

ciao
roly

Hi there,

well its been a long time since I’ve updated this site.. but now the season has started ill be updating after each race with my thoughts and how my season is going. 2012 is going to be a big year, i have a plan and as of now all is ticking along very well.

firstly, thanks for the messages of support i get through the website.. i really appreciate all the support, and knowing that support is out there makes life as a pro cyclist that much easier!

as most of you know this 2012 season i am with a new team.. its a super team this year, with two of the biggest teams in the sport combining to form Radios hack-Nissan-Trek. so far I’ve been really impressed. its got a nice feel to it and the typical egos you often see in this sport are basically non existent within this team.. everyone is respected and supported which is only going to help us throughout the season to get the results we know this team is capable of.

tonight kicked off the first race of the year for the pro peleton in a hotly contested 50km criterium. the atmosphere was unreal, and there were a lot of kiwis out on the course. its so great to see so many kiwis making the trip over to what is the closest thing you’ll get to the tour de france outside of europe.. adelaide is an amazing place too, nice weather, nice people and a very well organized race. everyone is happy here, and our team are all in good spirits.

i felt pretty good in the race tonight. although i was barely seen! we had a pretty relaxed race though with no real goals in place other than having a bit of a blow out. staying safe and just getting through the race. the real race begins on tuesday and tonight wasn’t counted towards the main race. you seen tonight the big gorilla winning after hendy led him out.. andre is a super guy, friendly and down to earth too.. he has some power in those legs of his i can tell you! hence his nickname ‘the gorilla’! big congrats to him and his team on their win!

this year im not in the same form as i was a year ago.. last year i had just won nationals and was absolutely flying. i come to tour down under in perhaps the best form of my life but it cost me later in the year.. this year I’ve taken more time just riding and getting the miles in. my real goals are mid march through till paris-roubaix and to be good here means you cant be in super shape right now. still im going well, and have had a good steady off season, and my body will just get better and better throughout this race. i actually enjoyed my training the last month.. i enjoyed more time relaxing too and this is all going to help when i flick the switch so to speak!

we have some guys here in our team who are really flying. linus is flying, skinny and has a real shot at winning this race.. i told him yesterday to not even think about taking the leaders jersey till the 2nd last day though! we also have tiago who is in similar form, and we have daniele bennati our sprinter who is keen to have a crack at a few sprint stages. my goal will be to support the team.. i have no pressure here and my real goal is to come out of this race with better form.. and just keep tracking towards my real goals.

so ill be updating after each stage so stay tuned to hear about how the race is going, how im feeling and anything that makes us laugh you guys will all hear about..

thanks for reading,
ciao
roly

Hi everyone,

Well where do i start! life was going great… i was ready to fire on the big day to the crown range but man did that all change in a hurry not to long after the stage finished into te-anau.

I had a bit of trouble after china with pain in around the kidney area. but thought nothing of it as it passed pretty quick… then during the tour i was making that many toilet stops during the stages, fatiguing my great team who would stop with me, and pace me back that i just stopped drinking so much on the bike… then following the stage into te-anau, i got a massage on my lower back, and stomach.. within an hour my hopes of winning title number 5 were basically gone!! i was in a world of hurt, hot and cold flushes and i just knew that i was not well.. i couldnt even get off the bed i was that ill, but kept thinking that with a good nights rest ill be sweet! very wishful thinking, trust me!

i slept terribly and woke up at 4am.. just in so much pain.. so the doctor was called and he thought it was kidney stones so i just banged in as many pain killers as im allowed and hoped for the best… these got me to the start, and 30k up the road, but i was 150km short! it was such a bad way to end, being in yellow knowing i was in the form of my life, and also knowing that i really hadnt done any major effort in the tour to date, as i was just waiting…. but i was gutted.

before you knew it i was in the back of an ambulance with morphine running freely, not to mention the laughing gas! I had great company too, with ian smallman also in there with a broken collarbone, but i can honestly say that we both had the best ambulance ride ive ever had, and asked the driver to do a few laps around invercargill!

i can look back now and laugh about the ambo ride, but i was so disappointed to stop in this way.. not just for me, more so my team, supporters and our great sponsor calder-stewart.. they pumped alot into our team, and we wanted to repay them with yellow. we had an awesome crew down there and i really felt for all of them more than myself.. but thats life, and sometimes even when everything is going as planned it doesnt quite work out.. still though, i can walk away from the race knowing that with that form i just know it would have been a super week.. but theres always next year!

Its always hard when there is one leader in a team and he either fails to deliver or he pulls out like i did.. it sort of takes the wind out of the sail so to speak.. one minute we know exactly when and where to pounce, confident in the team, then the next the team is left with no leader.. it was real hard for the boys, and i felt so guilty leaving them. but they kept going, and tried with the tired legs they already had from working for me to do something in the tour.. its the way every team roles though. you seen it this year in the tdf when wiggans went out, also kloden and levi… its tough on everyone..

now a big hats off to josh atkins.. i mentioned him in a post a while back saying he was a super talent and he failed to disappoint.. what a great win, and for him personally this will propel him onto even bigger and better things… he has been at the top right through the ranks, but as he moved up to the elite grade i think he had become a little disillusioned with where he was heading.. so for him, this win has come at the perfect time, and im real happy for him..
i call him jagerbomb kid… he can explain why! a great kid and again a super future lies ahead for him.

I think the tour this year was a real race.. the longer stages as tough as they were, were welcomed by everyone.. for me now this race sits as one of the harder races in the southern hemisphere and its great to see bruce and co moving with the times..

as for me, im feeling alot better now.. wouldnt mind a couple of cans of that laughing gas sitting here though! ive been on antibiotics now since i stopped and i am already feeling better. now i will just recover before really focusing on what lies ahead.. i do the oceania games, and all going well will do the cali world track cup.. initially i was really down about everything, as to be expected but now the old spring is back in my step and im ready for the next lot of goals.

thanks so much for all the support. i cant thank you enough. i had so many messages on facebook, txts and calls. i couldnt reply to everyone but you guys really rock..

onwards and UPWARDS!

Hi there,

Yes, today went exactly as i wanted!

This morning though, i woke up and i wasnt feeling that excited to get up. I dont think i was feeling tired from the stage, i just wasnt buzzing like i have been.. I was wondering who was ringing me at some ridiculous hour, instead it was my alarm going off at 7am! i could have slept till 10am for sure! But on waking i thought about todays stage and what i wanted from it.. I wanted to win Bluff Hill today, and in doing so put time between myself and the other contenders here at the tour of southland.. I did just that, so im really happy that it all went the way i wanted it to. Now im back in yellow, this time i want to keep it all the way to the finish!

My team were super yet again, and i cant thank them enough… A break went up the road again without too much fuss, and with the winds not being as strong and direct as the day before they controlled things like true pros. it was awesome sitting in the wheels knowing that they were doing this for me too. i know how it feels riding on the front, as i had to do so in the tour of beijing for HTCs leader, Tony Martin. Its never easy being in the wind all day, but sometimes when you know you have a job to do, with no pressure or stress of winning the race, its actually easier. In china I knew Tony could win if we did the work, so riding for him was no problem. I know the boys here all have faith in me here which is a great feeling too, so winning the stage was as much for them as it was for myself.

Share the Road were pulling hard today with my team. Again, great effort and good to see. They believed their leader, Jeremy Yates could win the stage, and they rode their guts out for him to have a chance. It allowed our team to save a few guys, and although Jeremy didnt win the stage, im sure he was pretty happy with the work his team did for him today. Thats cycling for you. One day you can be good, one day not… hence why we are taking this tour one day at a time. Especially with the crazy cold and wet weather we have. Its so important not to get ahead of ourselves and remain focused.

I had diamonds in my legs today. I was really flying and felt as if i could have ridden all day long.. We hit the bottom of the climb with alot of pace and the first part of the climb was ridden very hard. i started mid field knowing that any bit of energy wasted trying to be in front would not be recovered on the climb.. then i went to work.. I was paced up the first part of the climb by dream, and although there were a few crazy full gas attacks i knew they wouldnt last. Bluff is a hill that has to be ridden in your own zone. If you go over it, its that steep that you will not carry on with the effort.. I slightly misjudged it, riding above 500w for quite a lot of the time, and come the last corner i got out of my seat, slipped a few times and really lost momentum. I should have just stayed seated, and powered through it, but all in all i got to the line first, and put time in to guys i consider threats here. Its crazy thinking ive done this tour like 10 times, and im still learning!

Josh Atkins (jagerbomb kid) rode a great race to finish right behind me… Which signals what i already knew and that is that he is one for the future. He is a good kid, loves what he does and has a very bright future.. My teammate jeremy vennell had a good ride also remaining close on the GC, and dream was 10th which means we are now leading the teams GC which is not something we were chasing.. So it was the perfect day for Calder-Stewart.

Today it was super cold, wet and windy but we all got through it. I feel good, and feel i have the form to lift it a notch as the tour progresses..

There are now some very tough stages coming up so recovery is the key here. Eating well, sleeping well and keeping warm is the key.. We have some real tough back to back stages and we need to save every drop of energy that we can.. So we can have a real crack at number 5.

Will update tomorrow from Te Anau. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support. You guys rock!

Roly

heya!

Stage one treated us with good old southland weather today… well we missed the rain, but man was it blowing.. all day long the trees were bent sideways, but as this is now a race similar to what we see in europe, it wasnt as bad as it could have been…

This wind + the shorter stages of last year would have blown the race right apart, and there would have been massive time gaps with riders all over southland.. but now with the length of all stages we are forced to race as we do in europe. so in other words, try and let a group go up the road, control it as long as we can with limited riders, and then hope other teams also want to win this race and join in the chase..

Hats off to pureblack, subway, powernet and of course my own team for all taking part in the chase…(sorry if i missed anyone). coming from the pros it was great to see this, in europe this is what happens, but not normally in NZ. all these teams should hold their heads up high.. they didnt have to ride, as we had the yellow, but it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that 10 up the road v’s 3-4 calder stewart riders does not work! The teams above are here to win the race as much as we are, so it was nice to see and it says alot about how racing has evolved. Should this not have happened we could have easily sat up also, the group up the road would have gone to 20mins, and that would be the tour of southland done and dusted for most of the major contenders… at the end of the day, our guys are not robots running on gas, and couldnt have ridden all day in a block head wind just yet…. again, great to see.

So the race started with a hiss and a roar, typical to any other tour down here.. breaks come and go before a group of 10-12 riders went up the road.. our boys let it go out to 5mins before we really started to get things rolling, and even when we did start the gap continued to grow. i think it went out to 7mins at one stage but my boys just kept plugging away.. we started to get help about half way through the stage and we finally caught the group with about 20kms to go.. by this stage the x winds had really split the peleton, and then the attacks started.. the final attack drew 6 guys away, and clinton avery won the kick for the line.. thoroughly deserved and probably one of the most overlooked riders ive seen in europe..

we also had jeremy vennell from our team in the move which was perfect… but seeing there was a couple of riders which we dont know exactly their level of form we had to just keep them at a good distance.. now jeremy is in yellow, and it couldnt go to a nicer guy, and a super teammate!

I felt great personally. as heavy as the day was i was feeling super.. its only day one and im guessing everyone felt similar, but the real tour will start tomorrow with the infamous bluff hill coming after 125kms tomorrow.. for those of you who dont know, its a really steep climb. one of the steepest i think ive ever done, but we normally hit it at km 60, and on day one.. with it now being a longer stage, and on the back of a hard day today who knows how it will play out… i want to be good tomorrow, its a great stage to take out, so ill be ready for whatever challenge is laid down to be at my best come the climb..

The boys are all in good spirits.. each of them rode amazingly today, and i cant thank them enough. i feel guilty not helping, but our goal is to win this race.. with it comes pressure.. with that you need patience and good form.. i hope i have all that, and with the team going the way they are, i know they have the goods too.

I love being down here, its a great tour and the people are fantastic… keep reading cause something tells me tomorrow is going to be an important day!

talk more tomorrow,
ciao
roly

Hi there guys,

Firstly, A HUGE thanks for all the messages regarding my signing for Team Radioshack-Nissan-Trek. Its always nice to hear from you all, and even though i cant reply to everyone, i really love hearing from you all..

The teams time trial of the tour of southland is now done and dusted and we did a great ride… we werent the smoothest, but we nailed the key sections and at times were sitting on 60km/hr. which is not bad considering we are all on road bikes.. It was important to have a good clean start, and we had dream start us of and he did so perfectly… Much like the track, sam bewely (wagon) was at number 2 and he dropped me off hot, which meant we were up to the max speed very fast… so all in all it was a perfect start..

It was a great ride but we still had small issues.. i guess you can put that down to the fact we are all at different levels of form, and also we only come together as a unit yesterday so all that considering, the boys can hold their heads high.. we also finished with 6 riders, which shows we have strength right across the board… jason allen was strong, as was jase christie and jeremy vennell. perfect really and the boys are all fizzing.

for me personally, i felt the best ive ever felt.. ive made some changes of late, i now actually have a coach, nutritionist and a guy all rolled into one that also gives me constant feedback on all my training.. the plus side to all this is that dan healey basically does it all. so all i have to do is ride my bike, and follow his guidance. Its something i should have done years ago, i was often told the nutrition side of my career was what i needed to work on, but hey!!! its better late than never right! I really had good power today, just felt amazing and was floating which is what every professional athlete loves to feel.. so im really happy.

Normally we draw from a hat re who will cross the line, should we win the ttt that is. this time though the boys decided that seeing i was already a marked man, that i should be the first across the line so thats why i ended up in the yellow.. i would have had no problem not crossing the line first, i mean these are the guys that will go to work from tomorrow on but i just followed orders. sounds easy right? not when your on the limit after a big pull and then have to ride flat stick to just make it across the line first!

So far down here we have been looked after like a pro team treats their riders. its really incredible seeing how much time, money and passion the calder stewart guys have.. this year we have a team bus, we have more staff than great britain have and thats saying something! we are also flying home from the top of crown range via a helicopter which is all new to me, but really amazing at the same time… wagons is hoping its not an army chopper and actually has some doors!

i guess some teams will look at us and be a bit annoyed. but its a professional sport we live in now, and like in europe there are many teams with bigger budgets than what i have ever been involved in.. some choose to put it into riders training, some into their buses etc.. HTC had an ok bus, but no shower.. when some teams have 2 buses with 3 showers in each.. its just the way it is. what it does do is make other teams take note, and up the anti which lifts all aspects of the sport..

i cant thank you all enough though.. knowing i have the support of so many is something that will stay with me forever.. its a great feeling.. ill update each night from the tour, so keep following me.

Heres hoping for that magic to continue. its going to be a different tour with all the changes. longer stages, harder stages.. its a real european styled race which is great news.. change is good!

talk soon..
ciao ciao
roly

Hi there

This is the long awaited post, and sorry for the lack of updates!  Its been a super busy time of late with track camp, and training taking priority the last few weeks.. so heres whats been happening in my world of late.

Im really happy to finally be able to announce that i have signed a contract for the 2012 season with Radioshack-Nissan..  Im excited about what 2012 has to offer and hope to have the best year to date both on the track and also on the road.  Signing with this team will give me the best of both worlds, something i didnt think would be possible 6 months ago, but now that it is going to happen i can honestly say ill be doing all i can do make 2012 the year everyone dreams of!

It was really important for me personally to stay in a top team..  After this season i still have unfinished business on the road, and aligning myself with this star studded team is going to bring the best out of me as i aim to really do a good year.  Ive also got the time i need to be at my best for the olympics on the track too, where i will link up with my close mates for a crack at gold in london.

It was really a tough time of late just hoping that everything would fall into place.  Some very tough decisions had to be made, but now everything is official i feel a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  im a full believer in you can have everything you want in life, and although 6m ago i didnt really know where i would end up, i just had that feeling that all would be ok.. and as it turned out, everything is great!

I havent had a stellar season in europe by any means, but i feel i turned it around after my crash earlier in the year, and i finished the season well..  It was super tough mentally, but ive grown stronger from it and now i know the rest is up to me..  Its going to be a huge year, a very busy year and ive already started my planning so that i can make it a year ill never forget.  like i said, its going to be an exciting time, some big challenges lie ahead, but who doesnt like a challenge!

Righto, ive been here there an everywhere over the last bit, ive felt like ive been running around with my head cut off! Flying from china straight to invercargill to shock the system by going back to the boards was, lets just say, interesting!  the good old track legs are still there, but its a work in progress!  i was super in some aspects, and theres work to do in other parts but i walked away from there knowing that even with 3 years off the boards, i can be back to my best in no time and all is possible..  it was awesome to be back with the boys, we are like a family and all get on great..

Ive also been training pretty hard on the aspects i need to improve track wise to get me at a good level.. its been going real well and although i havent had a heap of time on the road, i know i have had a huge season and heading into the tour of southland next week i feel ill have the best form ive had for a long time.. i feel good mentally, and physically i feel great so heres hoping i can be a contender again in what is a great race being the tour of southland..

This years tour i have a super team around me, with 2 guys, wagon and dream around me from the track team..  Jason allen is also there, along with jeremy vennel and jason christie..  Its a heavily stack team, and we hope to bring the yellow jersey back yet again..  It wont be a walk in the park, i mean lets be honest, its invercargill and riding on the road down there is never easy with the weather but with this team i really feel i will have as good a chance as ever to do the business…  I think pureblack, and Share the road will be our biggest challenges in terms of the overall, but you cant write anyone off just yet..  youve got the young guys, vink, atkins and bennett who will also want to flex there big muscles so its going to be a great week…

Ive had some great time at home with my wee boy Moses..  Its always good hanging out with him and seeing him grow, but man does he think he owns the show!  Hes just had a holiday in fiji, and come back with tan lines looking as if he just finished the Tour de France.. I laughed seeing that, it was priceless.. He is growing up very fast, and starting to string together quite a few words..  If you dont understand what he is saying, he will just repeat himself like a million times…  he knows what hes saying though, and sometimes you just got to nod as if you do know!

Right, ive got to fly.  one last ergo session before i fly to invers, then its on..  Ill update during the tour as ive done all year.  Thanks for all the support during the year, its something i appreciate hugely and know that without you guys, it would that much tougher..

2012 is going to be a great year.  Im ready to create a bit of history, so stay tuned!

ciao, Roly