Cycling: Kiwi cyclist vaults into La Vuelta

Sam Bewley.

Cyclist Sam Bewley will race his first grand tour, the Tour of Spain, starting August 24.

The 26-year-old has been a professional for four years and feels he is "a bit overdue".

The Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and La Vuelta a Espana are known as the grand tours because of the prestige in which they are held as endurance races.

Bewley will ride at least part of the 3100km La Vuelta route for his Orica-GreenEDGE team. He may be pulled out midway through to prepare for a team time trial at the world championships in Italy on September 22.

A broken collar bone ruled Bewley out of any reckoning for the other two tours. He has recovered and did a fortnight of altitude training in Park City, Utah with fellow pro Hayden Roulston in preparation for the Tour of Utah which started on Tuesday.

"There's a lot less oxygen," Bewley says of the altitude training. "We were sleeping, eating and training at over 2100m. It left me breathless walking up the stairs. It took time to get used to, but the race is at altitude and with the Vuelta starting shortly afterwards, it's going to be pretty beneficial."

Bewley had hoped to have up to 90 days of tour riding in his legs by this stage of the season. He estimates the injury means he's had around 30.

On the upside, he has hosted his mum and aunt at the best tapas joints in Girona, his Spanish base.

He says his injury problem has been compounded by an inability to fully commit to Orica-GreenEDGE last season (he joined in May 2012). He wanted to return for another Olympic campaign on the track where New Zealand's pursuit team took bronze at consecutive Games.

In 2011, Bewley failed to have his RadioShack contract renewed but accepted the decision without rancour, instead splashing out on Rugby World Cup final tickets, wolfing his grandma's pikelets and dominating the pool table at his local RSA to ease the pain. His patience has been rewarded.

His professionalism rehabilitating himself has been noted by none other than former New Zealand road rider Julian Dean.

Dean is assistant sporting director at Orica-GreenEDGE. He has been coaching Bewley since January.

"It's been a difficult year for him but he has stayed strong and focused," Dean says. "The team recognises that and want to invest in his future."