Hayden Roulston has missed out on racing in this year's Tour de France, but is determined to turn his disappointment into a positive.
The double Olympic medallist says he was "disappointed naturally", but has had some time to reflect on the teams decision and will now race in the Tour of Austria starting the 4th of July.
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| Hayden Roulston (Photo: Tim de Waele) |
"HTC Columbia is a very strong team this year. On paper you could say it's perhaps the strongest in terms of stage win possibilities. I think Cav (multi Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish) will come into his own, and I think that Mick (Rogers) or Tony (Martin) could really surprise a few."
"I've made the decision to head down the more positive path. I'm determined to turn this into a positive. I totally believe that things happen for a reason and something good that will come out of this."
HTC-Columbia will focus on winning the Green Jersey and contending in the General Classification at the Tour de France, and believes it has selected a team that can support both goals. The nine riders selected are Mark Cavendish, Bernhard Eisel, Bert Grabsch, Adam Hansen, Tony Martin, Maxime Monfort, Mark Renshaw, Michael Rogers and Kanstantsin Sivtsov.
Team Manager Rolf Aldag said selecting this year's team was very hard. "It was hard enough selecting a long list of 15, but to bring it down to only nine riders involved some very difficult decisions," he said.
"In the end we have to leave at home several riders who also deserve a chance to ride the Tour."
Roulston has been given the opportunity to plan his own race programme, something he is grateful for, and is focused on securing some good results.
HTC-Columbia for 2010 Tour de France
- Mark Cavendish [GBR]
- Bernhard Eisel [AUT]
- Bert Grabsch [GER]
- Adam Hansen [AUS]
- Tony Martin [GER]
- Maxime Monfort [BEL]
- Mark Renshaw [AUS]
- Michael Rogers [AUS]
- Kanstantsin Sivtsov [BLR]
