Dean and Roulston miss out on Olympics

Veteran New Zealand road cyclist Julian Dean and fellow professional Hayden Roulston have missed out on places at the London Olympics.

Both of their names were absent from the two-man team announced on Tuesday, with 35-year-old Greg Henderson getting the nod to start in his fifth Olympics and Jack Bauer also winning a place in the road race team.

Denmark-born Linda Villumsen will be the sole woman in the road team and the Commonwealth Games silver medallist will target a medal in the time trial.

BikeNZ high performance director Mark Elliott says the decision to omit Dean and Roulston, both named as reserves, was a tough call.

"With only two spots in the men and one in the women, we had to consider riders who can best deliver without any team support and work off other countries' objectives, as well as opportunities in the individual time trial in London," he said.

Henderson, 35, a winner of multiple stages in Europe, will make his debut appearance in the Tour de France on Sunday (NZT), which Elliott says will provide him with a great preparation for London.

Bauer rode in his first Grand Tour earlier this year in the Giro d'Italia, finishing 14th in the individual time trial and helping Garmin-Barracuda to a win in the team time trial.

Dean, 37, broke a leg during the Tour of Catalunya in May and was not named by his Green Edge team to race the Tour de France.

Roulston, who claimed silver in the individual pursuit and bronze in the team pursuit on the track in Beijing, was also not chosen for the Tour.

Elliott says the nature of the sport means both Roulston and Dean could be elevated to the team if a rider is ruled out after a crash.

Villumsen, 27, was fifth in the women's road race in Beijing when competing for Denmark, but became a New Zealand citizen in 2009.