KEY POINTS:
Hayden Roulston is back in black.
The Ashburton cyclist was yesterday named to ride for New Zealand in January's six-day Tour Down Under in South Australia - completing his return from short-lived retirement because of a serious heart malfunction.
Roulston, 25, was advised to give the sport away in August when a specialist confirmed he had arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), which leaves him sometimes short of breath when resting and can have fatal consequences for sufferers when under stress.
However, the rider turned to alternative medicine, thought to include the ancient Japanese healing method called reiki, and made his return a month later, winning a Christchurch road race.
This was followed by wins in the national road race in Palmerston, near Dunedin, in October and the Tour of Southland earlier this month.
Seven others have been named in the team which will make a debut in the 667km tour which starts on January 16 in Adelaide and traverses South Australia.
They are Tim Gudsell, pending availability from his European pro team, Heath Blackgrove, Peter Latham, Logan Hutchings, Jeremy Vennell, Clinton Avery and Matthew Haydock.
National track coach Jacques Landry will be director.
BikeNZ high performance director Michael Flynn said that Roulston, who is as good on the track as he is on the road, had been selected based on his performances.
"They have, over the last two months, been exceptional - clearly his history over a period of time with professional road teams is excellent, and he will be an asset for the New Zealand team in the Tour Down Under."
Flynn said Roulston's health issue was being monitored continually.
"He's been extremely positive about that and we have arranged to meet another cardiologist in Auckland next Friday, so we will continue to seek explanation on the initial diagnosis, but at this stage he will be treated like any other athlete.
Flynn said all aspects of recalling Roulston, who last wore black at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games where he won a silver medal in the points race, had been considered with "particular regard to his health".
He did not anticipate a problem with officials over Roulston's inclusion. He would "be amazed" if the organisers did not know about Roulston's health issue.
"He's already been accepted into a UCI event - the Tour of Southland [which he won], he is not under suspension and he has an appropriate licence, so there is no reason not to consider him.
"He is in good condition from a performance point of view but as to his condition, we will continue to seek advice on the diagnosis - but we may never get to the bottom of that unless he has a specific operation."
- NZPA
