End of the road for Henderson

"I would never have thought I would be racing my bike professionally at the highest level in the world for so long." Greg Henderson

Greg Henderson is ‘checking out’ of his career as a professional cyclist and is quickly ‘checking into’ his next role - coach Henderson.

The leading New Zealand cyclist brought the curtain down on his professional cycling career this week, a career which included competing in five Tour de France races, five trips to the Olympics, and a gold medal on the track at the 2004 World Championships in Melbourne.

‘‘Two days ago I competed in my last UCI race and it was a beautiful send off,’’ he said.

‘‘I suffered badly for three days in the high altitude mountains in Colorado but on the final day I was able to do what I have made a healthy career out of, find my way to the front of the sprint with my team-mate Travis on the wheel and drop him off at 200m to go.

‘‘Could not have asked for a more fitting race .... ’’

With his professional racing days behind him Henderson has turned his focus to coaching

‘‘My other passion while I was riding was the exercise physiology side of sport and primarily cycling,’’ he said. ‘‘I used to read so many new studies and pick the brains daily of the sports scientists on the team.’’

Quite rightly the 40-year-old is able to reflect fondly on what he has achieved representing New Zealand on the elite cycling stage over many years.

‘‘I would never have thought I would be racing my bike professionally at the highest level in the world for so long. I believe that by ticking boxes each year and striving to be that little bit better every year gave me the drive to keep pushing my level higher and higher.’’