Villumsen wants to win medals for NZ

Reuters

MEDAL HOPES: Danish cyclist Linda Villumsen has her sights set on winning a Commonwealth Games medal for New Zealand.

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Danish cyclist Linda Villumsen has her sights set on winning a Commonwealth Games medal for New Zealand.

The 24-year-old today officially changed allegiance after winning a bronze medal in the time trial at this year's road cycling world championships for Denmark.

Her first goal is now to make the New Zealand team heading to New Delhi, India, for the Commonwealth Games in October.

Villumsen first visited New Zealand as a 17-year-old to attend school in Auckland and has returned here regularly ever since.

She recently became a New Zealand citizen and was this week cleared by the world cycling body, the UCI, and the Danish Cycling Federation to ride for her adopted country.

She first signalled her intention to do that in May and today said in Auckland that she had since received a lot of support.

"Since I arrived here I have had a lot of support from BikeNZ and from everyone around and I feel that this support is giving me so much more than I have had before," said Villumsen, who finished fifth in the women's road race at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

She is looking forward to working closely with BikeNZ and will continue to ride professionally in Europe for Team Columbia Highroad.

"They have an amazing team around the athletes," she said of BikeNZ.

Her decision has not gone down that well in Denmark, with Villumsen saying her former national coach told her it would prove to be the most embarrassing thing she had ever done.

"It is in the back of my head and it doesn't go away because he was serious.

"I don't feel that way. I feel only that I am proud of this," she said.

BikeNZ high performance director Mark Elliott said Villumsen was one of the world's best riders and her presence was a major boost for New Zealand's road cycling programme.

"Add Linda to the likes of Cath Cheatley, who was 10th at the world championships this year, potentially Rosara Joseph and a number of other riders with professional experience, and we will have a powerful team for the Commonwealth Games."

Villumsen is to make her riding debut as a New Zealand citizen at the national road championships in Christchurch on January 9.

- NZPA