Cycling: Henderson eyes Tour

New Zealand's Greg Henderson is enjoying a purple patch in his road cycling career but reckons he faces stiff competition finding a spot in his Columbia High Road's line-up for next month's Tour de France.

Henderson has notched up three recent stage wins and a number of podiums, all of them in Spain, to be the only Kiwi in the top 100 of the world rankings, at 95.

"It's very hard being on the best team in the world to be selected for the Tour de France," Henderson told roadcycling.co.nz.

"But I haven't done my chances any harm by winning this year when I have been given the opportunities."

He said two of nine places on the Columbia team had been earmarked for British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish and Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen.

There were 13 others in the mix to fill the remaining seven spots for the tour, beginning on July 4.

- NZPA