'I've got a family now' - cyclist quits Commonwealth Games

Greg Henderson. Photo / Bay of Blenty Times

New Zealand road cyclist Greg Henderson has pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, citing health and security fears.

Henderson informed BikeNZ this afternoon that he had changed his mind about competing at the Games starting on October 3, making him the first selected New Zealand athlete to do so.

Recent developments including the exposure of a substandard athletes' village and the increased risk of developing mosquito-borne virus dengue fever had prompted the 33-year-old to skip the Games, where he has previously won four medals for his country.

"It's not all about Greg Henderson, I've got a family now," he told NZPA.

"I have to put them first and I don't feel 100 percent sure about the environment over there. I look at it and think would I like (wife) Katie or (one-year-old son) Charlie competing over there and the answer is obviously no. I've got to put myself in their shoes and weight up if it's worth that much.

"Anything could happen over there. Is my career, is cycling, worth it?"

Henderson, third overall at the recent Tour of Britain, said he has always harboured doubts about his participation at the Games.

It was only the flight home from Europe to Melbourne with wife Katie Mactier - a former Australian track rider - when the reality of competing at the Indian capital hit home.

An array of vaccination shots lay ahead, which had the potential to hamper his performance at the world road cycling championships starting in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The last straw arrived when he saw photographs on the internet today of squalid conditions at the village.

"Who knows exactly what's gone on there," he said.

"Realistically it's probably going to be OK and the Games will go on. But where I am in my career, at the moment the negatives outweigh the pros."

Henderson was sixth in the road race at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

His medals all came on the track, comprising a points race gold and team pursuit bronze at the 2002 Games in Manchester, and bronze in those same events at Kuala Lumpur four years earlier.

That success made him feel better about pulling out.

"I've got those medals already, so the only one I'm missing is an Olympic medal and I'll be gunning for that in 2012," he said.

"It's going to be a shame not to represent my country but I'm going to do that next week (at the world road championships)."

Henderson said BikeNZ officials were supportive of his decision.

The national cycling body will have to find a replacement in the four-man road team for Henderson to ride alongside Hayden Roulston, Clinton Avery and Jack Bauer.

One possibility is Gordon McCauley, who has been named to contest the time trial and won the Tour of Tasmania which ended this week.

Overnight it was announced that four members of Henderson's British Team Sky team had pulled out of the Games, due to start on October 3.

British quartet Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard and Ben Swift cited health concerns for withdrawing and BikeNZ high performance manager Mark Elliott said he suspected the New Zealander was feeling the pressure.

"When the rest of his team's making those decisions then it's only natural that, in that social context, he's thinking about it himself," Elliott told Radio Sport.

"It's only natural. Any athlete going into an environment like Delhi, which is so challenging, it's only natural they have concerns."

David Brailsford, the principal of Team Sky as well as performance director of British Cycling, denied the riders had been instructed to pull out, insisting the decision had been left to the individuals.

"Given the situation they have found themselves in with the Commonwealth Games, nobody would blame the athletes for staying away, but there is no instruction from Team Sky on this issue," Brailsford said.


Cycling appeared to be causing more consternation than other sports among the New Zealand athletes contingent.

Medal prospect Jesse Sergent of Feilding said he would put faith in the New Zealand Olympic Committee to make the right decision about safety at Delhi.

Sergent, 22, will compete on both the track and road - the latter in the 40km individual time-trial - and was conscious of the health implications.

"There's always going to be a risk in a country like India regarding disease and health and for a sport like cycling where there's a high risk of crashing, so it's a concern," Sergent told The Manawatu Standard.

Welsh world and Olympic track pursuit champion Thomas was wary of the mosquito-borne illness dengue fever, along with poor sanitary conditions in the village.

"It's a massive disappointment first and foremost but with the hygiene and the risk of getting ill, it was a massive risk," Thomas said.

"I have been worried about the situation in New Delhi for some time, particularly since the dengue fever situation became apparent a couple of weeks ago.

"Then, just recently, we have seen the pictures from the village and that made my mind up for me."

The decision of the four British riders has severely weakened cycling events in New Delhi, already been weakened by the absence of Olympic gold medallists Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Bradley Wiggins.

- NZPA