The 2011 cycling season started off perfectly for Hayden Roulston (HTC Highroad) when he won the New Zealand national championships in Christchurch. A year after finishing second, the Kiwi returned for the gold medal and the honour of wearing the national colours in Europe all year.
“It was a really tough race back home, and to win in front of the massive home crowd was amazing,” he told VeloNation this week.
“Cycling isn’t the number one sport in New Zealand, rugby is, but it is definitely on the rise and the crowd on the main climb was a typical Tour de France crowd. It was great.”
From there onwards it was not smooth sailing, however, with a year that Roulston describes as “disappointing”. Last year he returned to the top of the sport with HTC-Highroad and had some good performances in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (fourth) and Paris-Roubaix (tenth). The results did not stop there as he won a stage in the Tour of Denmark and was part of the team that won the opening team time trial at the Vuelta a España.
This year has gone less to plan with sickness affecting his performance, as well as a traffic accident on the bike.
“I started really strongly with the Tour Down Under and was really at a good level there. Tour of Oman and Het Volk [now known as Omloop Het Nieuwsblad-ed.] went pretty well too but from there I have had many troubles from illness to getting hit by a car whilst out training.
“The Tour Down Under was fantastic for me, though…I really had the legs to win there, but I’m not a sprinter, so helped Matt Goss try to win. He went very close,” said Roulston.
“There have been more downs than ups, but sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and the season is not over yet.”
Ever the optimist, Roulston lines up today for the tough San Sebastián Classic before heading to the United States of America. Despite having last raced in June, he described his form as being at a good level.
“I have a really nice program right through till the end of the year,” he commented.
“[After San Sebastián] I am off to Tour of Utah, Tour of Colorado and then the two one day races in Canada [the WorldTour races in Quebec and Montreal – ed.]. I race one race in Belgium and then finish the year with the Tour of Beijing.
“I’m really excited and motivated to finish the year how it started and I want to cross the line with my arms in the air before the season ends. With Utah and Colorado being at altitude, I have to let the body decide when the time is right to go for a win, but I’m confident that I will get that opportunity to really have a good go at a top result whilst in the States.”
At this point in time it seems HTC-Highroad’s future is still undecided with no announcement of a new sponsor or whether the mobile phone manufacturer will renew its backing. Top riders on the team such as Mark Cavendish, Tony Martin and Tejay van Garderen are said to have given owner Bob Stapleton some time before they sign new contracts with other teams, but that time seems to fast running out.
While the riders and staff are searching for other employment in the event of the team folding, Roulston has also been thinking of his own future. “At this stage I do have a few options. I’m currently weighing up what I really want to do but all will be revealed in the near future.”