Cycling: On the handlebars of a dilemma

A legal adviser to BikeNZ has said nobody should have anything to fear about Hayden Roulston's astonishing comeback.

Lawyer and former Cycling New Zealand president Wayne Hudson is disappointed with the speculation and "scaremongering" surrounding Roulston's return to competition.

Roulston announced his retirement from top-level cycling just two months ago after being diagnosed with arrythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, a supposedly incurable heart disease that can be fatal.

Last week, in the small Otago outpost of Palmerston, Roulston stunned everybody with an emphatic win at the nationals, winning the 183km road race. He has reportedly been being treated through Reiki, a Japanese spiritual healing process, and claims to be "100 per cent cured".

It could be one of the feel-good stories of the year, however cycling officials have been treading cautiously around the issue.

National track coach Terry Gyde said he was "nowhere on the radar" when it came to national selection as he needed to think not only of Roulston's health but also of his team-mates. BikeNZ's high performance coach Michael Flynn reportedly said he wanted a second medical opinion on the rider's condition, while at the same time acknowledging they could not stop him riding if he wanted to.

The Herald on Sunday understands there was initially concern among BikeNZ bosses over the spectre of liability for themselves or event promoters should something happen to Roulston or fellow competitors in a race, but Hudson said it was a "ridiculous" assertion.

He pointed to the overturning of the Astrid Andersen case as a precedent. Andersen was originally convicted for criminal nuisance after mother-to-be Vanessa Caldwell was killed during the 2001 Le Race cycle event from Christchurch to Akaroa after colliding with a car. However the Court of Appeal quashed her conviction in 2004.

"Effectively that case now says that nobody is liable for criminal nuisance until they are proven to have been reckless, which is the equivalent of gross negligence and a blatant disregard for the safety and health of the members of the public.

"That's a very high standard. I don't think you'll ever see the police bringing anything like that again because it's going to have to be something either bloody stupid or bloody-minded by an event organiser or anybody else... before they're going to be liable," Hudson said.

"So in my view... it would be a waste of taxpayers' money and police time if you even entertained the idea you could bring a claim of criminal nuisance because Hayden fell over in a bike race."

Hudson said there was no liability under the Health and Safety in Employment Act as Roulston was entered as a voluntary participant, not an employee of the promoter. The only other potential liability was under the Crimes Act, and in particular criminal nuisance, but the Andersen precedent would make it extremely difficult to prosecute.

"That's a very high test and it's not going to make anybody particularly liable, especially when they don't know anybody's state of health whether it be Hayden or a 75-year-old man who decides he wants to ride around Taupo in 12 hours when it takes the rest of us 4 1/2. Nobody's negligent here. Nobody's liable for what Hayden chooses to do."

Hudson fully supported Roulston's decision to continue his career where he has ridden professionally, won a world championship medal and just this year picked up a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in the points race. He also said BikeNZ or Cycling NZ had "zero" grounds on which to suspend his racing licence.

"[It] is effectively a voluntary decision to participate at a person's own risk. He knows the risks associated with it."