KIWI MCCAULEY TO RETURN TO UK

Former Premier Calendar winner Gordon McCauley is returning to the UK in the next few weeks to resume his bid for a place in the New Zealand Olympic squad next year.

The Kiwi will join the Plowman Craven team that has registered as a Union Cyclist International (UCI) Continental squad for 2007 as it continues to grow. Team owner Simon Barnes hopes his team will get a ride in this year's Tour of Britain, and said the team will compete abroad during the season.

McCauley, who is currently riding the Tour Down Under, won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games time trial last year, topped the UCI Oceania tour rankings, and, despite retiring several times in his career, continues to push for a place on the New Zealand squad.

McCauley rode for Harrods when he first came to the UK, he then moved to the Men's Health team in 1999, although a dispute over wages saw him finish the season with Team Quest. After contemplating retirement in 2000 he instead moved to Ghent, Belgium to chase a pro contract. Riding for Kingsnorth International wheelers, the Kiwi scored over a dozen wins in Kermesses and larger Interclub races, landing a contract with Landbouwkrediet for 2001.

In 2002 in he rode for the RDM Flanders pro team before moving to the USA to race the following year. American racing didn't work out and he returned to his native New Zealand, and continued to race as an amateur. Unable to resist the lure of racing, the evergreen McCauley will soon be back for one more go.