1 Jul 2014

NZ rider confirmed in Tour de France

10:50 am on 1 July 2014
Jack Bauer competing at the National Road Cycling Champs in Christchurch in January.

Jack Bauer competing at the National Road Cycling Champs in Christchurch in January. Photo: Photosport

The New Zealand cyclist Jack Bauer will have the ideal build-up for the Commonwealth Games road race, after being confirmed as a starter in his second Tour de France.

Bauer was named in the nine-strong Garmin-Sharp line-up for Le Tour which starts this weekend in Leeds, England.

The Tour finishes in Paris on July 27, a week before the road race in Glasgow, set for the final day of the Commonwealth Games.

He completed his first Tour de France last year and will again play a key role in supporting young American star Andrew Talansky, who was 10th on general classification in his debut last year.

The team's chances were dealt a blow with veteran David Millar, in what was to be his final Tour de France, not considered due to illness.

Bauer has been in strong form this year, winning the prologue at the Herald Sun Tour, and followed his efforts in all of the major classics with seventh in the time trial at the Bayern Rundfahrt where he was 13th on general classification.

He joins Greg Henderson (Lotto Belisol) as the New Zealand riders in this year's Tour de France.