Cycling: BikeNZ has no trouble filling Stewart's spot

Adam Stewart. Photo / Mark Mitchell

BikeNZ might be reeling from the revelation one of their own was caught importing banned substances, but they have no such worries about replacing drug pedaller Adam Stewart in the team sprint.

Kieran Turner, BikeNZ chief executive, said while they were still hoping the Commonwealth Games Federation would allow them to replace Stewart with another rider, his absence would have little or no effect on the performance of the highly touted sprint team.

"We don't need cover in our sprint squad, we've got fantastic depth there," Turner said. "Adam was battling for the third spot [on the sprint team] with Ethan Mitchell."

The team sprint is a three-lap race where three riders start and one finishes.

Stewart's role as a starter was to take the team through the first lap quickly before handing over to Sam Webster, who in turn would lead out for the strong finishing Eddie Dawkins.

Mitchell would be a like-for-like replacement and could possibly have emerged as first-choice in that role by next month's Delhi Games even without Stewart's two-year suspension.

Another option could be to reconfigure the team slightly and put fast-improving keirin rider Simon van Velthooven in the team, potentially as the finisher.

"We're lucky with the depth we have and the tough choices we constantly have to make," Turner said.

The cycling community has been quick to lash out at Stewart, with former world champions Hayden Godfrey and Greg Henderson posting angry messages on their Twitter pages. "Adam Stewart u bloody dickhead. What were you thinking? I feel sorry for your friends and family who get tarnished with the same brush," wrote Greg Henderson.

Turner said the saddest thing about the case was that it unfairly placed other members of the team under suspicion.

"We don't have any tolerance for drugs in our programme," said Turner.

"We have some bad PR in cycling ... [but] the team and staff at BikeNZ are so committed to clean, ethical racing and we know we can take on the world doing that. We've got a really good group of young riders who share that vision."

Turner said Stewart struggled to explain to him why he took this course of action.

"We've had a couple of conversations over the past week and he doesn't really know why he's done this."

EPO and hCG - the facts
* Erythropoietin is a hormone naturally produced by the kidneys but it can be manufactured.

* EPO stimulates red blood cell production, boosting oxygen delivered to the muscles.

* Regular use increases the risk of blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

* hCG is a female fertility hormone.

* It is used by drug cheats to mask the effects of steroid use.