New Zealand's Greg Henderson at home on Australian cycling circuit

LIKE a lot of his countrymen, New Zealand's best cyclist Greg Henderson feels right at home in Australia - as he proved again in Geelong last night.

Ron Reed

2 min read

January 2, 2013 - 12:00AM

HeraldSun

LIKE a lot of his countrymen, New Zealand's best cyclist Greg Henderson feels right at home in Australia - as he proved again in Geelong last night.

If Henderson, 36, isn't the biggest name in the Mitchelton Bay Classic criterium series, there certainly aren't many rivals for the honour.

His young compatriot, Tom Scully, 21, isn't in that league yet but the two Kiwis, although riding for different teams, lit up a compelling first race of the popular helter-skelter.

Scully looked the winner coming to the last turn of the hour-long charge around the hot-dog course on Eastern Beach until the brilliant young Australian Caleb Ewan, who performed so well at this event last year that he earned the ambitious tag of the new Robbie McEwen, charged past him in the final straight to win comfortably.

It's not the first Australian cycling fans have heard of Scully - he won this stage of the Bay crits and the madison World Cup in Melbourne, both two years ago - and it won't be the last.

But Henderson might have drawn even more applause for his fifth place.

He's a familiar and popular sight as he and his Australian wife Katie Mactier, an Olympic silver medallist and former winner of the Bay Classic herself, live in Melbourne when he isn't following the pro circuit in Europe.

Henderson has won this stage twice before and began like he wanted to do so again with the least possible delay.

The moment the gun sounded at the start line, he sprinted clear of the peloton and opened up a five second lead that grew to six and then seven as he took out the first of three intermediate sprints.

After 20 minutes - a third of the race - he returned to the pack, but surged again to take the second sprint and ensure he would finish the evening in the green jersey for that classification.

And he was still there at the end, passing several riders in the race to the line.

To the crowd and commentators, it looked like a courageous tactic, one that only a rider of his vast experience - or a raw rookie with no comprehension of how hard that sort of lone attack is - would attempt.

The truth was a little different.

"It was an accident really. I know if you're at the back at the start its really difficult," he said.

"I thought if I went full gas at the start and stretched the field it would make it hard for 30 or 40 guys, but unfortunately I hit out on my own.

"It wasn't too bad on my own. I could go hard into the headwind and cruise in the tailwind.

"I figured I might as well stay out here now, but it wasn't my intention."

Stand by to see a lot more of the Kiwi, who was riding for a team sponsored by the Delgani bakery but who will join Scully in the New Zealand national team for the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, starting tomorrow.

Then he will rejoin his European team LottoBBelisol, where he is the lead-out man for German sprinting superstar Andre Griepel.

He says he is hoping for hometown support at the weekend despite racing for one of the main rivals of the the Australian-based outfits.

"Melbourne is my second hometown and when I race around here I get as many `Hendys' called out as anywhere else in the world," he said.