KEY POINTS:
National Sports funding agency, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (Sparc) is trying to persuade BikeNZ to retain Michael Flynn to run the sport's Olympics programme.
New Zealand's top cyclists were stunned when the popular Flynn, an Australian, announced his resignation as high performance director with BikeNZ last week, citing personal reasons.
Sources told NZPA today that Sparc was this morning meeting with top BikeNZ officials, said to include chairman Arthur Klap and chief executive Rodger Thompson, to discuss the future of cycling's high performance programme at Sparc headquarters in Wellington.
"It is a regular meeting with a sports body to discuss hot issues and hot topics and obviously Flynn's resignation and the future of the high performance programme is on the agenda," a source close to the meeting told NZPA.
"Sparc has an investment in the high performance aspect of BikeNZ, so when the high performance manager resigns, we obviously want to talk with them over the future of the programme.
"It is a possibility that Flynn could put in a role where he will oversee cycling's Olympics programme," the source said.
Flynn told NZPA from Auckland this morning that he was grateful for the support that top New Zealand riders had been giving him since the news of his resignation broke.
"That's a fantastic gesture from the senior riders -- that really humbles me," Flynn said.
Flynn said that the issue was not about him.
It has been speculated that there were problems between him and Thompson.
But Flynn said: "It is not between me and Rodger ... (it is about) the whole concept of high performance in BikeNZ.
"What we are trying to do is make high performance in cycling a priority."
Asked whether he would reconsider his resignation, Flynn, whose last day is on December 10 "at this stage" said: "I never say never to anything."
- NZPA
