Cycling: Brakes on medal hope

By CHRIS RATTUE

New Zealand cycling's medal hopes on the road have been hit by the withdrawal of Julian Dean from the Commonwealth Games team.

His professional team, CSC-Tiscali, has refused to release Dean, who was New Zealand's realistic prospect for a medal in the men's road race.

Dean has been working back to fitness after breaking a leg in March, and CSC-Tiscali want the Rotorua rider for a World Cup race in Hamburg which clashes with the Games road race in Manchester.

"It is very disappointing to us and to Julian," said convener of selectors Gordon Sharrock.

"The injury hasn't helped his situation because he owes his team ... but this might have happened anyway.

"We knew it was on the cards, but we still were hoping he would get a release."

The three other road riders are national road race champion Gordon McCauley from Wellington, who was in the last Games team, and young Waikato riders Karl Moore and Ryan Russell.

Fraser McMaster of Canterbury could be the man to replace Dean, after winning the Tour of Greece and jumping up the world rankings. McMaster was disappointing at the national championships and in the Tour of Southland, but is now the second-ranked rider behind Dean.

The other candidates include the veteran Graeme Miller and Glenn Mitchell, who rode at the last Olympics. The new rider will be named this week.