 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Timothy Gudsell |
| Born | (1984-02-17)17 February 1984 (age 41) Feilding, New Zealand |
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road and Track |
| Role | Rider |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2006 | Albi Vélo Sport |
| 2006 | Française des Jeux(Stagiaire) |
| Professional teams | |
| 2007–2010 | Française des Jeux[1] |
| 2011 | PureBlack Racing |
Timothy Gudsell (born 17 February 1984) is a retired New Zealandtrack androad racing cyclist who last rode for thePureBlack Racing team.[2] Gudsell turned professional in 2007 and after retiring in 2012 runs a Cycling tour company.[3]
Gudsell was educated atTe Awamutu College inTe Awamutu.[4] While at the college he joined the cycling team racing withPeter Latham where they won the New Zealand Secondary Schools National Cycling Championship Team time trial.[5]
Timothy started his cycling career in 2002 at theTour of Southland he finished in 17th Overall almost 10 minutes behind winnerJohn Lieswyn.[6][7] The following year he improved his result to finish 10th overall and also a 3rd Overall in theNew Zealand Cycle Classic.
2004 brought about Gudsell's first victory's although they wereTeam time trial's they were still wins.[8]
On 13 May 2005 New Zealand announced their 'long-list' of participants for the2006 Commonwealth Games with Gudsell being included in the potential track cyclists.[9] Gudsell competed in the Under-23 events at the2005 UCI Road World Championships, during the road race Gudsell crashed with 20 kilometres to go eventually finishing in 111th.[10]
On 25 January 2006 it was announced that Gudsell would ride in the 2006 Commonwealth games for New Zealand on the track.[11] At the games Gudsell was part of the Team Pursuit winning the bronze medal withMarc Ryan,Peter Latham &Hayden Godfrey. On 16 July 2006 it was announced Gudsell would joinFrançaise des Jeux as aStagiaire from 1 August with the hopes of stepping up in 2007 to become professional with them.[12] In September after impressing the team as stagiaire Gusell earned a Pro-contract withFrançaise des Jeux for the next two seasons.[13] On 18 October it was announced that New Zealand had earned a spot to enter their National Team in the2007 Tour Down Under with Gudsell being selected to participate.[14] As part of a training camp for the FDJ team Gudsell performed aHaka for his new teammates.[15]
Now a professional, Gudsell started the 2007 season with theNational Road Race Championships where he finished fourth 30 seconds behind winnerJulian Dean.[16] Then he went to the Tour Down Under with the New Zealand National team where he finished in 80th position. As part of the New Zealand track team he was expected to race the World championships however he came down with a case of the flu.[17] His first major race of the season was aCycling monument the2007 Paris–Roubaix where he worked as a domestique forPhilippe Gilbert who finished in 52nd.[18] Gudsell began his firstGrand Tour in May the2007 Giro d'Italia.[19] Sadly during Stage 7 he crashed out of the race ending up in hospital with a deep cut in his left thigh.[20] Gudsell didn;t race again until the end of August in theTour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Because of his injury he missed selection for theUCI Road World Championships.[21] Gudsell finished the season with an 8th Overall in theTour of Southland.
2008 started out once again with the National championships with Gudsell finishing in 8th once again behind Julian Dean. ThenAcross the ditch to Australia for the2008 Tour Down Under where this timeriding forFrançaise des Jeux he rode in support ofMickaël Delage who finished in fourth.[22] Following the same as last year he rodeParis–Roubaix followed by theTour de Romandie and theGiro d'Italia which he this time completed, finishing in 136th.[23] Gudsell was named as part of the team rididng in the2008 Summer OlympicsRoad race,[24] he did not finish the race.[25]
For his third year atFrançaise des Jeux Gudsell began his season at the National champs finishing in 16th behind winnerGordon McCauley and hi dominantSubway–Avanti Cycling Team team.[26] Then across to Aussie once again for the2009 Tour Down Under after finishing 8th in stage 1, he crashed on stage 3 and had to abandon.[27] He ended up with a collarbone broken in 4 places and was out from racing tillGent–Wevelgem in April.[28] In the hopes of the end of his crash marred season Gudsell was called up as a last minute selection for theVuelta a España being given a free role to show the managers what he can do.[29]
Gudsell was selected to leadFrançaise des Jeux at the2010 Tour Down Under but did not end up participating.[30] He had another major crash this year in theTour de Pologne and after a year of bumps and breaks his team chose not to renew his contract.[31]
The 2011 season started with Gudsell being announced as the leader ofPureBlack Racing.[32] With a team now built around him Gudsell achieved good results, 8th in theTour of Wellington, 9th inHerald Sun Tour and 3rd in theTour of Southland[33] with a stage win on stage 6.[34]
After his 2011 team folded unexpectedly Gudsell had to find something to do other than racing, he started a cycling tour and coaching business called Ventouro.[35] Gudsell still runs the business to today.[36]
OverallTour du Haut-Anjou
Commonwealth Games, Team Pursuit (withMarc Ryan,Peter Latham &Hayden Godfrey)Source:[39]
| Grand Tour | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | DNF | 136 | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — |
 Vuelta a España | — | — | 136 |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
