Cycling: Roulston joins Dean in Tour de France

Hayden Roulston is riding for the Cervelo TestTeam in the Tour de France. Photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

New Zealand will have two riders in the Tour de France for the first time after dual Olympic medallist Hayden Roulston was today confirmed in the Cervelo TestTeam.

The double Olympic medallist will join Julian Dean, who was confirmed yesterday in his Garmin Slipstream team for the 96th Tour de France, which begins in Monaco on July 4.

It marks a remarkable comeback for Roulston, who returned to cycling three years ago after retiring with a heart complaint.

He sealed his return with a silver medal in the individual pursuit and bronze in the team pursuit in Beijing which caught the eye of the professional scouts, earning him a contract with the new Cervelo TestTeam.

Roulston has ridden impressively for the team but a crash, an ensuring foot injury and illness had forced him out of the recent Giro d'Italia and meant a nervous wait until he was named today.

"Roly is absolutely rapt with the news," his manager Craig Adair said today. "It's just fantastic news for him. I know he has worked so hard for this opportunity. It's great for BikeNZ to have two riders in the Tour de France.

"Hayden was unsure if he would get the nod. But he has ridden very well in the last two Tours in the Netherlands last week and is right back to his best.

"His numbers in training and testing have been huge and he will be a massive asset to the team. It's so exciting for Hayden and for BikeNZ."

Roulston's unique ability to time-trial and ride the mountains was no doubt a key to his selection, Adair said.

Cervelo TestTeam will chase general classification honours with defending champion Carlos Sastre (Spain), but also the sprinter's green jersey with big Norwegian, Thor Hushovd, formerly at Credit Agricole with Dean.

"Hayden is a noted time-trialist which will be important for the team and also means he can perform as a lead-out rider for Hushovd. But he has the numbers to be a key player in the battle for the overall for Sastre.

"That means he has an enormous job ahead of him right throughout the tour but I am sure he is up to it."

It will be Roulston's first experience in the Tour de France.

He first raced professionally for the Cofidis team from 2002 to 2004 then moved to Lance Armstrong's high profile Discovery Channel team in 2005, before his medical condition surfaced.

He will join his team in final preparations for the Tour, which comprises 21 stages covering 3500km through France, Spain and Switzerland with 10 flat stages, eight mountain stages, two individual time-trials and one team time-trial before finishing in Paris on July 26.

- NZPA