Renewed enthusiasm for Gosney

Wanganui cyclist Adam Gosney had no great expectations when he started Sunday's national men's road race championship because his build-up had been hampered by ill-health.
But his solid 18th finish out of around 95 starters at Ashhurst has him looking forward with some interest and renewed enthusiasm to the coming Oceania Games road race in Wanganui.
"That's not a bad finish in the circumstances," Gosney said. And those circumstances?
"The race was 175 kilometres, and the longest race I had done for the month before was just 75km. And I only did one of those as well.
"I've had three weeks where I've had this stomach virus ? I've been training but I've only raced club races in Wanganui. There were heaps of races up north, but because I've been a bit off-colour, I didn't have the confidence to travel out of town," Gosney said.
"Really I hadn't done the work, I was missing quite a few consecutive days of training. But in retrospect I probably wish I had travelled, because I was obviously going okay." Gosney and Wanganui's other prospect Dayle Cheatley finished in the big bunch about 4min behind winner Gordon McCauley on Sunday.
Former Olympian Gary Anderson has been coaching Gosney for the past two and a half years: "He's been good trying to keep me positive through this. When he was riding he had quite a few problems with his health so he understands what I've been going through."
Gosney, in fact, has only been back on his bike for five months after giving running a try ? and not finding it to his liking.
"I went running for the first part of this year, but when I found out the road nationals were just down there in the Manawatu, I thought it would be foolish not to do them. I had looked at trying running because cycling is so time-consuming.
"If you ran 10 hours a week, that would be very big mileage, whereas for cycling you would want to be up around 20 hours. But I don't think I had the leg speed for running anyway. And it would probably be at least a two-year crossover from one sport to the other."
And the 26-year-old Gosney suggests that if he sticks with cycling for two years and does it consistently ? "I could go all right."
Now his confidence has returned, he's into it.
"The Oceania Games are in six weeks and there's a decent race every week from now on ? around Taupo, around the mountain (Taranaki), so I'm picking my form at the Oceanias will be better there and I would like to make the top 10.
"My goal is now to stick with it for the next two or three years."