Lucas added to NZ squad

A back-pedal by Cycling New Zealand has seen Oceania champion Sharlotte Lucas added to the squad for the Road World Championships in Austria later this year.

The 26-year-old originally missed the cut for selection, with high performance director Martin Barras telling Stuff that Lucas was ‘‘not the type of rider that we deem is going to perform particularly well on a course that hilly’’.

‘‘It’s not that we don’t think very highly of her as a bike rider, it’s just a little bit like selecting a sprinter for a really, really hilly course. It doesn’t suit the purpose,’’ he said.

However, Lucas has now been included following a successful appeal, which was heard by Cycling NZ yesterday.

It is the second time Lucas has successfully appealed against omission from a major event this year, following her exclusion from the Commonwealth Games squad. On that occasion she went on to finish fourth in the women’s road race.

Her inclusion in the world championships team will see Lucas team up with Georgia Williams, Mikayla Harvey and Grace Anderson in the road race, which takes place in Innsbruck on September 29, although Harvey and Anderson’s final selection is still subject to form.

If all four riders do make the start line, Lucas, Harvey and Anderson will likely ride in support of Williams, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist and only current Women’s World Tour professional, as she is New Zealand’s best chance of success on a 156km course which features more than 4000m of climbing.