Kiwi cyclist Jack Bauer secures European contract

BARRY HARCOURT/Southland Times

EXHAUSTED: Jack Bauer after losing the tour leader jersey to Heath Blackgrove on the seventh stage of the Tour of Southland. Bauer managed to finish the tour in second place.

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Jack Bauer's phone has been running red-hot since he raised his arms in victory at the national road cycling championships just a fortnight ago.

The former Wellington cycle courier has experienced an astounding upsurge in form in recent months. He outsprinted Tour de France riders Hayden Roulston and Julian Dean at Christchurch on January 9.

In December he was second at the Tour of Southland.

Today, 24-year-old Bauer hopes his golden run will continue.

In-depth knowledge of the Rimutaka Hill Road should help the Nelson rider's cause in the opening stage of the Trust House Cycle Classic.

"I'd love to take a stage. The Rimutakas is definitely my favourite," Bauer said. "I know that climb better than most people."

He was spotted by tour director Jorge Sandoval at a previous national championship. Sandoval saw in Bauer the qualities of a young aggressive rider and named him as team leader for the Trust House team for this year's tour.

It was a bold move because it came before Bauer's recent purple patch.

Bauer hadn't expected success to come so soon. "To have got where I am so quickly, after having just half a year overseas, that was my first year of international.

"Then to come back from overseas and have such a string of success is hard to describe really. It's great, I couldn't have asked for better," Bauer said.

"It's been amazing. The media and publicity is something I'm not used to."

He returned to New Zealand in October from a six-month stay in Ghent, Belgium. As a rookie, he used the European summer to gauge his potential.

The results included nine titles on criterium circuits run over cobblestones.

Most New Zealanders fail in the tight racing, but Bauer rose to prominence and, more importantly, secured a contract for the upcoming European season.

"I went over there prepared to hurt myself. I loved it. You learn how to corner fast. You're always accelerating over a corner, braking over a corner, it takes a different kind of strength.

"Most Kiwis find it a shock. You have to be super-motivated and prepared to do well."

He has signed with English team Endura Racing this season. Such is the nature of pro cycling that Bauer admits if he had held out until his second place finish at December's Tour of Southland, and the recent national championships road title, the offers would have been even better.

"You have to sign early because most contracts start on the first of January so they need to be in place in early November. I'm happy with what Endura has lined up for me. It's a fully pro deal."

He still aspires to a European professional career, rather than racing in Britain, so will need to impress when he gets going with his new team during tours in France and Spain.

"Definitely I want to make a European pro team by next season."

Bauer also aspires to an Olympic career in the teams pursuit. He was training in Invercargill last week with the Bike NZ national track cycling squad. His best chance for next October's New Delhi Commonwealth Games, however, will be on the road.

Selectors have not revealed their plans for the team yet. "It's a pretty closed book," Bauer said.

He hasn't spent much time of late at his Golden Bay base. The training ground suits him in the off-season though.

"Takaka, Golden Bay is where my parents are, so when I'm back in the country I need a place to crash, and that's where I go."

Bauer isn't the only Kiwi being primed for a big future success on this week's tour. Palmerston North under-23 rider Tom Findlay has achieved brilliant results in the past six months, and Sandoval believes he could go as far as the Tour de France.

- © Fairfax NZ News