Disappointing Worlds for one Kiwi woman

Serena Sheridan after winning the silver medal at the NZ elite nationals ©RoadCycling.co.nz

Sep 28th, 11. Linda Villumsen was the only Kiwi racing the women's road race at the World Champs, but there was another top Kiwi close by who was disappointed not to be there with her - Serena Sheridan.

"I am upset I was unable to help New Zealand get a result when I'm doing everything I can to race at the top level and am missing out on opportunities that I've worked 10 years towards," the successful Kiwi international told RoadCycling.co.nz.

New Zealand qualified to field a team of six riders in the women's elite road race, but only one rider was selected.

"I was gutted to be sitting at home watching NZ's only representative racing unsupported and crashing out so close to getting another top result for New Zealand.

"This year was a flat, technical course and to win - you needed a team. There are heaps of roadie girls that would have made an awesome team. I'm sure together we could have got a result."

"Home" for the 25 year old is currently Slovenia, just a 1hr flight from where the Worlds were held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

After placing 2nd in the NZ Elite Nationals in January, Sheridan jumped from Europe to the USA and back again with her US based pro-team Tibco. She was racing the top riders in the World and had the World Championships as one of her target goals of the season.

In the best form of her life

Last year she was riding for a club team in Belgium and won one race, this year she is racing for a top professional team at World Cup level and she took two wins in France. She definitely feels a better rider now than she was when she lined up for last year's World Championships.

This season she thrived on the opportunity to race at the very top level of women's racing. With the number of stars in her team, Sheridan's role at the big races was as a domestique for her team leader - personal results were not her main goal.

"The World Cups I was racing are normally harder than World Champs because there are more pro women from the strong nations like Holland and Italy, where as at the World Champs they are limited to about seven starters. In the World Cups I was able to support my teammates to many top finishes," she noted.

Sheridan enjoyed racing alongside the world's best riders, unfortunately she was not among them when it mattered most.

Missed selection

"Linda, Myself and another European based Kiwi were on the start list posted on the UCI website, but I was told by BikeNZ that I would not be starting."

After two early season wins, and many solid performances in support of her teammates, Sheridan had a big build up phase mid-season in the hope of being in top shape for the Worlds. She felt she was flying and was looking forward to the rest of her team rejoining her in Europe for a couple of big events prior to the Worlds.

Unfortunately, bad luck struck.

On the first day of Trophy d'or, the first of the events, she got food poisoning. She could have pulled out of the event, especially considering the 40 degree temperatures, but given the work she had put in to get to the race in great form, and with her bigger goal in mind, she raced. Understandably, her results were not great.

It was just after this race the NZ long-list for the Worlds was announced, and Sheridan's name was not on it.

Naming only one female rider, the press release from BikeNZ noted selectors had not considered any female endurance track riders as they were preparing towards their Olympic selection campaign and added, "We have two riders competing in the Holland Ladies Tour and we will evaluate their form next week to determine if they are riding at a level that could provide support for Linda."

Unfortunately, Sheridan is not in control of what races she rides, and was only ever a reserve for the Holland Ladies Tour.

Tibco sent new riders out from the USA for the event, the Kiwi would have raced if one of the other girls was sick or injured. In the end Sheridan did not end up racing the tour and did not make NZ's final World's team list.

Missed opportunity

Despite the food poisoining setback, Sheridan believes she would have been a valuable teammate to Villumsen. Not everyone can win the Worlds and with a sprint finish predicted, Sheridan - who excels on hilly circuit courses - was not expecting to be a podium finisher.

She did however, expect to be able to fulfill the very important support role - whether that was shielding Villumsen from the wind, support to rejoin the peloton after mechanicals/crashes, or even just riding a pair of spare wheels. With the form she believed she had, she also expected to be there right to the end of the race.

Sheridan raced the Worlds last year, in the six rider NZ team, and although she was not at the top of the results at the end of the race, she did finish while a third of the field did not.

Her disappointed is not just for herself, she is also disappointed for Kiwi women's racing in general.

"Why was the bar set too high for any other Kiwi women to be sent? How un-inspirational for any up and coming women road riders," she commented.

NZ were the only country to field a team so far under their allocated roster.

Onwards and upwards

With her international season over, Sheridan is heading back to NZ in the next few days. Her big goal for the summer will again be the Elite Nationals.

For the last two years she has had great performances - in 2010 she was off the front solo for much of the race, and in 2011 she placed 2nd behind solo winner Cath Cheatley. (Cheatley's 2011 international season ended after a bad crash in the US back in June)

Perhaps Sheridan can make a New Zealand team next year if she goes one better and takes the top domestic title in 2012. With her pent up frustration she can be counted on to ride even more aggressively than normal.