Cycle coach vindicated

Press, 9 January 1986, Page 3

Cycle coach vindicated

A difficult decision to drop two original selections for the Oceania Games 100 km time trial cycling team has resulted in gold for the road coach, Ron Cheatley. Late last year, Mr Cheatley was at the centre of controversy in cycling circules when he dropped two riders from his team for the Oceania Games, now being held in Wanganui. Mr Cheatley dumped Gavin Stevens and David Barnett from his squad after they had attended a “rebel” time trial event in Wellington, the week-end he had organised a training meeting in Wanganui. Organisers of the rebel event claimed a better time than that posted by Mr

Cheatley’s team of Stephen Cox, Stephen Carton, Graeme Miller and Paul Leitch. The time and distance has still to be ratified.

Mr Cheatley elected to run Monday’s Oceania Games 100 km event with Miller, Leitch, plus Blair Cox and Greg Fraine, two other squad members. The quartet turned up trumps, winning in a time of 2hr smin 595. A delighted Mr Cheatley said last evening he hoped his riders would be named for the Commonwealth Games team this year. “I didn’t want to use my top riders in the Oceania Games because I thought

they needed a rest but now I’ve got six riders under the qualifying time for the Commonwealth Games, in official events,” he said. He would not comment on the outstanding claims of the rebel trial organisers. They claim a record time of 2hr 4min 39.59 s for the 100 km event. “That’s all water under the bridge now. I’m just not concerned about their ■situation at all,” said Mr Cheatley. He added, however, that he believed the Wellington course had been certified as 98.6 km.

“That puts their claim up the creek,” he said.