Roulston ends track career to concentrate on the road

Double Olympic medallist Hayden Roulston (HTC-Highroad) has called time on his track career in order to concentrate on his road racing ambitions. The move calls to a halt any lingering desires the rider had of competing at the London 2012 Games next year.

Roulston came to the decision after a week of training with the BikeNZ track squad in Invercargill. With a contract at RadioShack-Nissan-Trek for 2012, Roulston was forced to chose between a heavy road commitment that included the Spring Classics, which clash with the World Track Championships in Australia. New Zealand track selection policy meant Roulston needed to qualify by riding the Worlds and World Cup events.

BikeNZ men's endurance coach Tim Carswell said Roulston had been a valuable addition back into the track cycling ranks but he fully understands and supports the decision to concentrate on his road career.

"The requirements to be a successful rider for a Pro Tour road team as well as prepare for an Olympic Games on the track are formidable," Carswell said.

"Hayden has worked really hard this week and has shown signs of the sort of training numbers needed at this level on the track.

"At the same time he has realised what it will take in terms of time both for key competitions and specific training for him to be considered for selection on the track for London.

"However Hayden's new road contract involves him for the early part of the season in particular and after weighing up all of these factors, he has come to the conclusion that he can't fulfil the requirements demanded for both road and track."