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Games Bad Luck Fails to Foil Wood

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By MARTIN, Wayne

You could forgive Susie Wood for believing that her Commonwealth Games campaign was jinxed.

But the Nelson road cyclist is remaining upbeat about her Melbourne experience despite losing her $12,000 racing bike, then crashing on a borrowed bike before finishing 26th in the 100km women's road race.

That's a whole heap of bad luck for one person to bear, with Wood still hurting physically despite entering Saturday's 101km Marlborough Grape Ride. She finished second in the race last year to her Commonwealth Games team-mate Melissa Holt in Blenheim, and with Holt breaking her collarbone in Melbourne, Wood has the women's title in her sights.

It might help her to absorb some of the disappointment from Melbourne when, just one day before the road race, the roof rack carrying the team's bikes back from a training ride broke, depositing Wood's race-ready bike somewhere along Melbourne's Tullamarine Freeway.

"There were about four or five lanes of traffic and we were in the outside lane and there was no way we could stop right there without killing ourselves basically,'' she said.

"We pulled over to the shoulder but it was still about 800m before we could get safely off the road.

"A volunteer stopped to help us and we ended up calling the cops. They went back and looked for it and it just wasn't there.''

She was fortunately able to borrow mountainbike crosscountry silver medallist Rosara Joseph's road training bike to ensure she made the start line the following day.

"Most of the track riders and mountainbikers all have road bikes as well to train on so we borrowed bits off various bikes and built something up. It was a really nice light bike in the end - but not quite your own bike.''

But Wood's bad luck continued when she crashed just four laps into the nine-lap circuit - the same pile-up that eventually eliminated Holt from the race. Although able to continue, Wood knew that her chances of helping the New Zealand team's cause were limited.

"My back was totally wrecked and I think it (the crash) was partly because I was on a different bike.

"You spend a lot of time, obviously, on your bike changing little things just to get it set up right for you. But it's not an excuse.''

Besides having to regain her composure, Woods used up plenty of energy in her 5km chase back to the main bunch. And with the injured Holt also a key part of the New Zealand team's tactical planning, Jo Kiesanowski eventually led the Kiwi charge to finish sixth, 3min 7sec behind Australian gold medallist Natalie Bates.

"It's disappointing that you build up for so long and you want everything to be perfect. But nothing that happened was anything I could have controlled.

"You know, the bike crash and racks breaking wasn't my fault and there wasn't anything we could have done differently to change it. So that's just bike racing and life, I guess.''

Wood still thoroughly enjoyed being part of the New Zealand team environment.

"The actual games experience and being part of the larger New Zealand team was just amazing. It was a wicked experience that's for sure.''

Source: Nelson Mail, The

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