Bond aims high in new challenge

Hamish Bond is heading to Colorado for four weeks of altitude training as he searches for a breakthrough in his ambitious cycling quest.

While a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games has only reaffirmed his decision to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games on the time trial bike, the former rower acknowledged he is still short of challenging the sport’s elite. Which is why he flew out to the United States this week for his first block of altitude training.

‘‘If you’re brutally honest and you look at a guy like Tom Dumoulin, he probably puts out more power than me, he’s probably more aerodynamic than me, he’s lighter than me and he’s probably got better equipment than me. When you look at where I need to make improvements it’s not like it’s just a tweak in one small area, it’s across the board and that’s just the reality,’’ Bond said.

‘‘But I know I haven’t totally scraped the barrel in terms of my performance. I’m not hoping for a hail mary but you can be close and then all of a sudden you have somewhat of a breakthrough and you’re there.

‘‘That is sort of how it worked in rowing. When I first started on the international scene I thought ‘these guys their arms are as big as my legs there’s no way I can compete’. But then all of a sudden the following year you’re up there and you’re competing and winning races, you build a bit of selfbelief and you’re away. I don’t necessarily think it could happen again but I just want to make sure in my own mind that I’ve done all that I can to see what I’m capable of.’’

Bond finished 32.41 seconds behind gold medallist Cameron Meyer, who was the only World Tour rider in the field of 54 starters at the Commonwealth Games, and 2.15 seconds behind silver medallist Harry Tanfield.

He possibly could have finished second himself, after being held up by a support vehicle for what he believed was longer than two seconds. However, because it was not the difference between first and second, Bond has not lost any sleep over it.

‘‘I had to slow down but there’s no point worrying about. It was just a bit of bad luck.’’

Instead of fussing over something that was out of control, just like his puncture at last year’s Road World Championships, Bond is more concerned about fixing what he can control, which is his own performance. And although he said he executed the the 38.5km race against the clock ‘‘pretty much how I wanted to’’ at the Commonwealth Games, he is well aware there is still plenty of room for improvement between now and the Olympics. And maybe, just maybe, the altitude training could provide that breakthrough.

‘‘I’m heading to Colorado for a block of altitude training, which is something I’ve never done before but for every major cyclist worth their salt it is a consistent part of their training programme. I’m not at the point where I can rule that out so I’ll see if it’s somewhere where I can make up that time that I obviously need to.’’

So here’s a question for you, Steve Hansen. If the skies tear apart above Auckland on June 7 (two days before the first test) and the rain pierces the flesh like the arrows of Norman archers, then who are you going to pick at number 10 against the French? Beauden Barrett or Richie Mo’unga? The athletic wonderboy or the real first-five?

I’m guessing we all know the answer, despite the fair chance that it will be wet on the night. You will pick Barrett, even though by now you probably know it would be the wrong choice. You will pick Barrett because he is the puppet leader, because he is an outrageous talent, because it is harder to get out of the All Blacks than Alcatraz, because you never admit you are wrong.

All the evidence says otherwise. It wasn’t just that Mo’unga comprehensively outplayed Barrett in the Crusaders’ victory over the Hurricanes, it was the way he went out about it. And before we get onto all of that, let’s get one canard out of the way.

Contrary to received wisdom the Crusaders’ forwards did not annihilate the Hurricanes forwards. How the Canes pack must have hated to hear and read that repeated nonsense. I scored each 10-minute section of the match according to possession, turnover, forward momentum and defence and it was remarkably even.

No, Mo’unga outplayed Barrett because he made a number of the fundamentally correct tactical choices. The first and most important was where Mo’unga stood. Such a filthy night made passing very difficult, although the coating on the modern rugby ball makes it much easier than in the past.

The pass is perhaps not the strength of either Bryn Hall or TJ Perenara. But Mo’unga stood relatively short most of the time. He provided Hall with an easy target and so Hall was able to hit his 10 with regularity. Barrett stood on the horizon, as if it were a sunny summer’s day on Scorching Bay.

It was crazy. When Perenara’s pass is good, it can open up the field. But he is not Aaron Smith or Will Genia. Perenara’s talents are more nuggety. And so there were too many costly passes that went astray.

Another oddity about Barrett’s direction of play, or lack of it, were the number of people who went in at first receiver. On filthy nights like these, I like my No 9 and 10 to take charge. You need strong leadership. You need players who will drive the team around the pitch.

Yet the Canes carried on like a bunch of grans on a night out at the bingo. Everyone put their hand up. Perenara, who has not played much football in recent