Kiwis’ U19 rider of the year headed to Portland

Patrick “Paddy” Bevin, New Zealand’s 2009 U19 Cyclist of the Year, will head to Oregon this spring to ride with the Portland-based Rubicon/ORBEA squad that raced under the Land Rover logo last year.

Road Cycling New Zealand reported today that Bevin plans to join fellow countrymen Roman Van Uden and Mike Northey on the 2010 team. The kiwi trio currently race together with the Bici Vida squad in New Zealand and will head for Oregon as racing south of the equator winds down.

“The cool thing about going to the USA is that we get to line up with the pros,” Bevin told Road Cycling. “For someone aspiring to be professional bike rider, it’s an excellent place to start, to get racing that is not possible if you stay in New Zealand.”

Although he’s currently recovering from a crash in New Zealand’s U23 road race championships last weekend, Bevin said he plans to be back in peak form long before he heads to the states.

“It means I get a break now, and having it now gives me more time before heading to the United States, so I get a proper rebuild,” he told Road Cycling.

And it looks as if Bevin will be joining another powerful team when he gets here. Van Uden and Northey are just two of five riders returning to the Rubicon squad from last year’s Land Rover/ORBEA UCI Continental Pro team. Team manager Norrene Godfrey said the Rubicon/ORBEA elite squad will field a nine-rider team to compete in races around the country, although the specific team schedule won’t be finalized until her husband and fellow team manager David Godfrey returns from Europe, where he has been accompanying rider Dean Tracy’s rip over pine boards at the Rotterdam Six Day.

Patrick Bevin’s 2009 Results

1st Oceania Road Race U19
3rd Oceania Time Trial U19
1st Australian Road Championships U19
1st New Zealand Road Championships U19
2nd New Zealand Time Trial Championships U19
1st Stage 4 Tour of Southland
1st Stage 7 Tour of Southland
Overall Sprint Ace Tour of Southland
1st Taupo Avanti Cycle Classic