Ryan wins in Europe, Latham in contention in USA

Commonwealth Games track hope Marc Ryan showed he is in good form after winning a criterium in Belgium today.

The Timaru rider took on the Kermesse in Londerzeel in northern Belgium with a strong performance.

Ryan is with the BikeNZ endurance track squad who are racing and training in Belgium as part of preparations for the wider squad for the Commonwealth Games, with the New Zealand team to be named this week.

It was a good day for the kiwis with fellow South Canterbury rider Jason Christie finishing second in a kermesse (criterium) in Geel near Antwerp while Christchurch teenager Ruardiah McLeod won a similar race at nearby Aarsele, racing for his Isorex team in an under-23 race.

Ryan, part of New Zealand’s world championship medal winning pursuit team, took out the 126km kermesse after he broke clear with one other rider on the final lap. The Timaru cyclist was in the initial group of 20 riders from the 85-strong field that broke away after 45kms.

The kiwi joined three others who went off the front with 18kms remaining and Ryan was able to control the sprint impressively.

Meanwhile Christie was with a group of New Zealanders at Geel including Myron Simpson (Auckland), Chad Adair (Christchurch) and Cameron Karwowski (Blenheim).

The 102km criterium involved 33 laps of a tight 3.3km circuit with Christie getting away in an early break of eight riders only 30 minutes into the race, which remained clear.

The leading bunch was reduced to five with Christie just pipped in the final sprint. Karwowski was 14th to lead home the bunch while Simpson was 39th in the peloton but Adair punctured.

Yesterday McLeod celebrated his 19th birthday with his first international victory, winning the under-23 kermesse in Aarsele where he was able to outsprint a group of 12 riders that broke clear.

In Sweden another Commonwealth Games candidate Linda Villumsen finished in the peloton just 10 seconds behind winner Kirsten Wild in the World Cup race in Sweden.

Yesterday her HTC Columbia team were second in the team time trial behind Cervelo Test Team.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic, Te Awamutu’s Peter Latham remained in contention after two stages of the Elk Grove Tour near Chicago.

He finished in the31-strong peloton in the second stage today along with fellow kiwis in his Bissell team Jeremy Vennell and Patrick Bevin in the a 115km circuit race won by Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell.

Latham is in third place on general classification only five seconds behind the leader Karl Menzies with Vennell fourth at six seconds.

Tomorrow’s final stage is a 115km stage criterium.