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Cheatley praises Kiwi team mates |
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Cheatley's team mates climbing up the Pahiatua Track today while the NZ Champion was in a small break ahead of the peloton ©RoadCycling.co.nz
"I'm really pleased with the way the team has ridden this week," she said after finishing second on the General Classification.
"We raced for the win, but just didn't quite pull it off today."
Cheatley placed second on the first two days of the tour after breaking free each stage with a select bunch.
Her 3rd place on Stage 3's bunch sprint brought her to within 4sec of the overall lead, but a successful break in today's stage thwarted her final chance for overall victory.
"The girls raced really hard, it was a hard race. It was really tactical, you had to keep thinking all the time about who was up the road and how much time you could give them."
Although Serena Sheridan (Team Mini) began the day's action the moment the flag dropped, she was just the first of many attacks and breaks. The Kiwi team kept calm and worked through all their options.
"For a young New Zealand team they showed themselves really hard and hopefully they learnt a bit this week, I think I learnt a bit this week which is always nice," said Cheatley, the top rider in the 2010 US season.
Cheatley and Arndt, side by side today ©RoadCycling.co.nz
"We put the girls on the front with 10km to go to try and bring it back, as the only chance [to win] was me sprinting for time bonuses in the end, so that's what we tried to do."
“The reality is four seconds is a long, long time in road cycling. HTC are the best team in the world and Judith is a very classy rider. They controlled it well today.”
Although they did not manage to reel in the break, the Kiwi team delivered a tactical race throughout the tour, with its mix of experience and youth proving invaluable.
“They did their jobs well. New Zealand has some awesome talent coming through which is pretty exciting.”
The NZ Duathlon champion Mel Burke used her strengths to pull along the front of the peloton, while young Kate Chilcott took her opportunities in the winning breakaway today.
Commonwealth Games and World Champs medallist Linda Villumsen proved a great right hand assistant to Cheatley and Courteney Lowe supported well on the climbs, and on the flat.
It was easy to forget the New Zealand team only had five riders to HTC Highroad's six!
In the end, Cheatley was more than happy with the way the team rode, and graceful in defeat.
"I don't mind coming second to a world class rider like Judith Arndt," Cheatley said after the final stage. "If there was anyone you wanted to come second to, she'd be one of them. She is a pretty classy lady and she has a really classy team."
All articles on the 2011 NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand Race details
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Feb 26th, 11. Cath Cheatley didn't quite manage to win the NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand, but the NZ Champion had nothing but praise for the team she had around her.