Cycling: Henderson puts on a brave face in fourth place

7.45am - By CHRIS BARCLAY

ATHENS - It's the worst position in the world to place, but a gallant Greg Henderson put on a brave face after finishing fourth in an ultra-aggressive men's points race at the Olympic Velodrome here today.

The US-based former Dunedin rider gave his all, lapping the field three times to earn 60 points but it was to no avail as he finished 11 points shy of the bronze medal, won by German Guido Fulst.

Henderson, who deliberately adopted a cautious approach at the start of the 160-lap 40km tactical dogfight, was in a share for third with 10 laps remaining but Fulst (79 points) and silver medal-winning Spaniard Joan Llaneras (82) covered his every move to keep the Commonwealth champion off the podium.

Usually 68 points would be enough for at least third -- if not gold -- but not today as Fulst, Llaneras and runaway Russian winner Mikhail Ignatev (93) perfectly executed their game plan.

Henderson took some solace from the fact that he at least missed the bronze by a relatively large margin.

"It's better than missing by one," he said, though his disappointment was palpable.

"I've been fourth in the worlds before. It's just a horrible place to get.

"It's so close but so far away. You ride your guts out and get fourth, nothing really to show for it," Henderson reflected.

"My immediate reaction when I looked at the scoreboard was Awwwww..... fourth."

Henderson was pleased to have improved since a disastrous 12th at the world championships in Melbourne three months ago.

"Well I did better than the worlds eh? I didn't panic. In Melbourne I tried to go with everything at the start. I went across a big move and put myself in oxygen debt and never recovered. I'm fitter, stronger, who knows I just rode smarter."

Henderson, who backs up tomorrow in the madison with Hayden Roulston, did not make his move until the halfway point where he won the eighth sprint and gained a lap -- jumping from nowhere to fifth.

The medallists already had a sizeable lead though, and he could not quite bridge the gap.

"Man it was attack, after attack, after attack. It was unbelievably aggressive.

"I lapped the field three times -- 90 per cent of bikes races you go in and lap the field three times you win it," he said.

Henderson was in awe of the 19-year-old Russian who set the tone from the outset by taking the first sprint and a 20-point bonus for a lap before the rest of the riders had basically warmed to their task.

"He's just an unbelievably strong little fella.

"I raced him last year. Same tactics, he just goes and goes. He doesn't race much and because he's not one of the big big names you can miss him. But give him 50m and he'll take another 200 and that's a lap."

Meanwhile, Henderson was confident he would be in shape for the madison despite feeling the heat after today's exertions.

"I felt strong. Obviously I was poked but to take a lap with 18-19 laps to go shows you're still got some strength."

- NZPA