Tour postponed

Press, 1 December 1988, Page 44

Tour postponed

By

MALCOLM CONDIE

Problems with sponsorship in Malaysia have meant that New Zealand’s six-man cycling team tour to that country has been postponed by several months. The South Island’s only selection for the tour, Aaron Lauder, received notice ten days ago from the administration officer of the New Zealand Amateur Cycling Association, Gordon Reid, that he would no longer be travelling to Malaysia this year. “I had already paid my airffares and then got this letter with my cheque attached,” Lauder said. "It was just one of those things,” Mr Reid said, “I decided one night I would ring Malaysia as I’d heard nothing from them and after discussions with them I found out they were having sponsorship problems and would not be holding the tour this year.” “The Malaysian officials said that it had only been postponed, and that they were looking at a date in March and would be writing to us, and that’s all I know,” Mr Reid said. If the tour is organised for March next year, it could concern members of New Zealand’s team. Lauder, who has also been selected for a tour of Taiwan, which finishes 'ate in February, will

have had a long, 1988/89 road season. The concern is that the 1989 road season is important for aspiring cyclists who have been selected for the 1990 Commonwealth team or hope to compete in the Oceania games at the end of the year. Should they finish this season too late < it may jeopardise their chances of a good start to next year’s cycling. Although the Commonwealth teams will be named by next year, Oceania hopefuls in the Malaysian team will have a long 1989/90 season as they try to impress selectors. "We would be interested in still sending a team to Malaysia next year but would probably need more of an assurance that there would be one,” Mr Graham Sycamore, the convenor of selectors for the N.Z.A.C.A. said yesterday. It is not the first time a New Zealand team for an overseas trip has been informed of postponement or cancellation at the last minute. In March, the N.Z.A.C.A. was informed its 14-strong team to tour Australia could not go because of lack of interest. Then New Zealand was given 15 days notice. This time, only because Mr Reid contacted Malaysian officials, cyclists in the team found out about three weeks before.