Rodger, Gate lead kiwi cyclists in Germany

The young BikeNZ road team will look to promote top riders Shem Rodger and Aaron Gate into the top-10 in tomorrow’s penultimate stage of the prestigious Thuringen-Rundfahrt under-23 road race in Germany.

Rodger (Cambridge) and Gate (Auckland) finished safely in the peloton in today’s 140km stage to Bad Berka to be 16th and 17th respectively on general classification and only 45 seconds off the top-10.

Three riders out of any threat for general classification managed to break and remain clear with the New Zealanders’ attempt to bridge the initial break thwarted by a mandatory “call of nature” for the entire peloton.

Rodger and Gate moved up the general classification after strong rides on the previous day’s mountainous stage in hot conditions. The pair worked their way into the small lead bunch that broke apart in the final climb, with Rodger 12th and Gate 17th.

“While we were disappointed to miss the opportunity to get into that break today, overall it was a good chance for the guys to regroup and settle into a more sedate stage,” said coach Stu McDonald.

“Tomorrow’s fifth stage is potentially the toughest of the tour with the 140km test in Masserberg including a number of categorised climbs.

“The guys will look to support Shem and Gatey tomorrow and see if we can move them up in the overall order.”