Cath Cheatley's pain is fast-rising Tauranga cycling star Courteney Lowe's gain.
As Cheatley recovers at home in Wanganui after a horror smash late last year, Lowe has snapped up the opportunity to join leading US women's pro outfit Team Optum on Cheatley's recommendation, a step she hopes will lift her on to the podium at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Lowe linked with the FCS team in Texas a year ago but has taken a significant leap forward by signing with Optum, more formally known by the mouthful Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies.
She has been on an 11-day training and team building camp in Ventura County, Southern California, logging close to 900km across a wide variety of terrain in the first week alone.
Lowe only began taking the sport seriously six years ago while at Otumoetai College and left having bagged silver at the women's road nationals in Christchurch, finishing 12 seconds shy of triathlete Nicky Samuels after 123km.
She will be based in Asheville, North Carolina, during the next eight months after Cheatley recommended her as the ideal workhorse for the team's star riders, including US Olympic team aspirants Janel Holcomb and Carmen Small, top-ranked Canadian sprinter Joelle Numainville and English rider Emma Grant.
"Cath used to be in their team under another sponsor and put my name forward and talked me up a bit apparently, so there will be a bit of expectation on me I suspect," Lowe said.
Lowe rode last year for FCS, who raced mainly around Texas and as amateurs. This year she will be operating in a vastly different climate, lining up in the top women's tours in the US.
"It's going to be a massive step forward - last year's team didn't pay for anything and I was one of the top riders on a weak team, finding our own way to places without much help. It was pretty hard and I treated it a bit like an OE in the end, but this year everything's paid for and I'll be doing the donkey work for the others to win."
Lowe survived in Texas with support from personal sponsor Craigs Investment Partners, with the Tauranga-based company again backing her 2012 campaign.
She will be based at the foot of Black Mountain, almost in the middle of nowhere, and is eager for the cool climes and hills after Texas's pancake flats and 40C temperatures.
"We didn't often get to race outside of Texas last year so I'll see more of the States and utilise my climbing strength in the mountains. Racing will be so much better with a good team and I'll develop lots by learning off the older girls."
Lowe has lifted herself on to BikeNZ's Olympic long list for the women's road race in London, but with one spot certain to be going to Delhi Commonwealth Games medallist Linda Villumsen she's at long odds to grab the other place.
"I'd say my chances right now are 50:50 or slightly less and they may even use one of the track riders. London's too early for me, although I wouldn't turn it down if I got the phone call, but 2016 is the one I want to go to with a chance to medal."
Western Bay's country roads copped a hammering from Lowe before she left, especially around Whakarmarama, Pyes Pa and Welcome Bay, and some downtime at home also allowed her to work on left leg issues plaguing her for the last 12 months.
Immediately before January's nationals Lowe wasn't even sure she'd make the start line as she struggled to transfer power through her leg.
"My leg dies whenever I put any effort in during a race. I rode right-legged for a while during the Tour de Vineyards and as soon as I ease off the left leg the problem goes away. It hasn't been a great way to race effectively."
Lowe has been given several medical opinions on her problem. "Personally I think it's a glute [buttock] problem and I'm compensating by using other muscles which are getting fatigued, but I'm exercising everything and it's improved a lot."