Cycling: Top Kiwis to skip Commonwealth Games

Jack Bauer won silver in the road race in Glasgow. Photo / photosport.nz

Three of New Zealand's top road cyclists won't be riding at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

George Bennett, Jack Bauer and Sam Bewley have all confirmed they will not be attending the Games on the Gold Coast, with the majority of New Zealand's World Tour riders having to prioritise their professional teams over a shot at winning a medal.

New Zealand have a strong history on the road at the Commonwealth Games, winning 23 medals in 40 events, including a silver in the men's road race at the 2014 Glasgow edition.

That medal was won by Bauer in a race where only 12 of the 140 riders finished, and Bauer says he was never a chance to try to double that tally this time around.

"It's not a tough decision to make; it's more a case of not being available," he explained to Radio Sport.

"That ball was never in my court - I need to be at the other side of the globe at that time of year."

Bennett, New Zealand's leading road cyclist, will be in training for the Giro d'Italia while the Games are on, and he says that the majority of pro cycling teams haven't heard of the Commonwealth Games.

That, combined with the timing of the Games (during major European classics such as Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race) leaves it an extremely unlikely proposition for the Kiwi cyclists competing on the World Tour.

"It didn't even really come up for discussion, it was never on the cards really. It's particularly unknown in the cycling world," said Bennett. "Hopefully next time around, it comes at a better period of the year."

Bauer concurs with Bennett's experiences.

"For my whole career, I've ridden for American and European teams, so they don't really understand what the Commonwealth Games are.

"Going to Mitchelton-Scott, an Australian team, they know what it's all about, but the team exists to ride the road calendar, and the Commonwealth Games have to come second."

Bewley is also riding for Mitchelton-Scott in 2018, and says attending would be a lot more feasible if the race was in Europe, where the majority of the professional peloton live for most of the year.

"If it was just over the ditch in Glasgow [like in 2014], then maybe you could make it work. When it's in Australia, it makes things a lot more difficult, with obviously a long trip all the way back there. It just makes it inconvenient."

Despite the majority of Kiwi pro riders being unavailable, Bewley, a medallist on the track in 2010, believes New Zealand will have several strong medal chances in April.

"We've got a lot of young guys and a lot of great domestic riders that will do the country proud, and I don't think we're going to have any less chance of winning a medal with those guys."