Roe ups the ante in bid to collect a scalp or two
UNDER Paul Jackson’s team management, Guernsey has once again a large cycling contingent covering all three disciplines being staged in Gold Coast – track, mountain biking and road.
More than half of the squad have been there, done it, got the Commonwealth T-shirt, but for the likes of Andy Colver, Jack English and Seb Tremlett, it will be a major step up in class.
Four years ago, in Scotland, James Roe was the Commonwealth novice and if the likes of Colver, English and Tremlett respond to the forthcoming challenge as Roe did and has subsequently built on, Guernsey cycling will be all the stronger for it.
In terms of profile, Roe has to bow to the professionals Tobyn Horton and James McLaughlin, who continue to make progress on the international road stage, but there is little doubt in the less-sexy world of cross-country cycling that the former has raised his own game significantly.
Last June Roe took gold from the Isle of Man’s Nick Corlett in a desperately tight finish to win the NatWest Island Games title in Gotland.
In Australia, you can forget any realistic prospect of a Guernsey cycling medal and in Roe’s discipline it will probably be two New Zealanders, the best in the world, vying for gold and silver.
What’s success in Roe’s book?
‘If you look at my results and benchmark them against the national rankings, I’ve moved up from there four years ago,’ he said.
‘It’s hard to say position wise [in Gold Coast] because it depends so much on who turns up.
‘Each nation is allowed three riders but I know, for instance, England are only sending one.
‘If everyone sends three then that might push my position down, but I really want to be up there in the mix with riders from some of those bigger nations.
‘Last time I was 14th but I was first rider, I suppose, from what you’d call the smaller nations, so to get the scalp of one of the bigger riders would be great.’
More in Tuesday's Guernsey Press.
