"I am just so disappointed," he said. "London has ... been a goal for me, something I dream about, winning gold for my country - all that Boy's Own stuff, that is what drives me.
"But despite negotiating considerable clauses in my contract to enable me to train and attend key build-up events, including the London world cup in February and a pre-Olympic training camp in Bordeaux, it seems the BikeNZ selection policy requires more and I would not have been named in the five-man team next year to prepare for London."
BikeNZ high-performance director Mark Elliott was unapologetic, saying that increased depth meant nobody could take shortcuts into the team.
At present, Jesse Sergent, Sam Bewley, Marc Ryan and Aaron Gate are considered New Zealand's strongest team, with Roulston having been relegated to the 'B' team before he walked away.
"Back in 2008, when the programme was first starting, we had five guys to choose from, now we've got 10," Elliott said. "We set a pathway based on the selection policy back in May about what riders needed to fulfil. The challenge for Hayden was [fitting it around] his pro contract, which is an incredible opportunity for him.
"The time they need him just doesn't allow him to compete with his peers so we could benchmark him."
The 'A' team is heading to Cali for a world cup meeting next month while the 'B' team heads to Beijing in January, which Roulston was unavailable for. There was also a "secondary pathway" for those outside the 'A' team to force their way in at next year's nationals.
"From where we're sitting Hayden wasn't likely to make that top team [for Cali] so his pathway was compromised by his ability to link in with his pro commitments." Elliott said the need to specialise even within the pursuit team itself made the transition from riding pro to the track an even tougher bridge to cross, but Roulston had formulated a programme he believed would have had him in perfect shape. Roulston said he was hurt most by the suggestion he was walking away without a care.
On the contrary, he said it was one of the toughest things he had ever had to do.
A despondent Roulston held out hope that "events might conspire" to get him to London and that he would be waiting for the phone call until the last moment.
At this stage it appears his only hope of adding to his Beijing bronze and silver is in the road race, but he will face stiff competition from the likes of Julian Dean, Greg Henderson and Jack Bauer for the two available spots.
