Tensions in cycling community

Tensions are simmering within the cycling community with Cycling Southland saying it has not expressed support for a new performance hub.

Coach Sid Cumming announced last week he had launched the G-Force Cycling Performance Hub based out of Invercargill, and that he had pulled together the required funding of about $115,000 with the backing of philanthropist Kent Gardner and Southland-based sponsors and funders.

The hub will operate as an incorporated society independent of Cycling Southland and Cycling New Zealand. Although he added the hub had received support from Cycling Southland and had been endorsed by Cycling New Zealand.

However, Cycling Southland general manager Tony Hammington has since contacted Cumming to advise him that was not right, they in fact had not expressed support for it.

Cycling Southland also posted a statement on social media outlining to the cycling community that it had not expressed its support.

‘‘Cycling Southland has not expressed support for G Force Cycling Performance Hub. We have expressed we will support initiatives that promote the sport of cycling and the athletes, as long as behaviours are commensurate with delivering that,’’ Hammington says.

Cumming, who is actually a selector for Cycling Southland, referred all comment to Nathan Shearing, who is a board member for the new hub.

Shearing said he attended two different meetings where he believed Cycling Southland had expressed support for the hub.

He was surprised to discover a Cycling Southland social media post that suggested otherwise.

Cycling Southland chairperson Nicola McAra said it indicated there was support for initiatives that get people riding, but added Cycling Southland did not single out private organisations to endorse.

McAra agreed there might be a crossover between what Cycling Southland was doing with its staffing resources and also what Cumming has planned.

For over five years Cumming had been the lead coach for one of Cycling New Zealand’s four highperformance hubs.

Cycling New Zealand closed those hubs in March as a cost-cutting measure,e which prompted Cumming to look at establishing his own.

McAra said the previous Cycling New Zealand-run hub in Invercargill was a high-performance programme where certain criteria needed to be met. ‘‘I understand this hub is a bit broader, and he has approached all sorts of kids . . . I would assume that would be quite similar to what we [Cycling Southland] offer.

‘‘People make their own choices, if they want to go to his [hub] they can. We’ve got riders who have got private coaches anyway.’’

Cumming, who is a previous coach of the year winner at the Southland Sports Awards, has 23 riders as part of the hub. Those riders are also members of Cycling Southland.

It seems there is now a split developing within cycling circles over the matter. ‘‘There’s the Sid fan club who loves what he does, and there are others that are not so thrilled,’’ McAra said.

Both Cycling Southland and the hub operate out of the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill, which is run by ILT Stadium Southland management. ILT Stadium Southland general manager Nigel Skelt welcomed the introduction of Cumming’s performance hub given it led to more use of the velodrome.