In a shock move, the New Zealand road cycling champion Hayden Roulston has withdrawn from the Olympic track squad to focus his attentions on his Pro Tour career in Europe.
Roulston recently signed a contract with the elite Radioshack Nissan Trek team, but that deal allowed him to compete for New Zealand in the track squad, should he make it to the start line at the London Games.
After training with the BikeNZ squad in Invercargill for the last week, the double Beijing Olympic medallist decided to withdraw ahead of the UCI Oceania Track Championships starting Monday at the ILT Velodrome.
Roulston was forced to withdraw from the defence of his Tour of Southland title earlier this month with a kidney infection and at the time said he didn't want to risk his bid for next year's Olympics by carrying on.
BikeNZ men's endurance coach Tim Carswell says he understands the decision as 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.
