Serena Sheridan is hoping to destroy the opposition on the roads of Christchurch in the elite national championships this weekend before turning her attentions to nursing the city's citizens back to health.
The registered nurse and professional cyclist, currently based in Hawke's Bay, will in March make the move to Christchurch with her boyfriend and fellow pro rider Jeremy Yates.
Yates is a builder so the pair are likely to be most welcome in an area shattered by frequent shocks but their opponents in their respective race fields this weekend aren't likely to be as appreciative of their talents.
Sheridan and Yates are the top-ranked riders and both enjoy making their opponents suffer on hilly courses.
On Saturday in the 123km women's race Sheridan will be hoping to go one better than last year when she lost to Cath Cheatley and on Sunday Yates is likely to be near the front of the 186km men's event after finishing third behind Hayden Roulston and Greg Henderson in 2011. This year neither Roulston nor Henderson are competing.
Sheridan, who was born and bred in Nelson, goes into her race following a tough recent Tour de Vineyards stage race around the roads of the Tasman region. She came second to New Zealand triathlete Teresa Adam in conditions which rarely deviated from heavy rain.
It's likely she will want to quickly put losing to a "part-timer'' behind her in Christchurch and is known for attacking early and stringing out the field on a course which includes the tough Dyers Pass Road climb half a dozen times.
"Because of the hill it's really hard and you go up it six times so it becomes a war of attrition which really suits my style of racing,'' she said. "I'm quite an aggressive rider. I like to do a lot of attacking. I like to win riding solo rather than sitting in for the sprint. There's nothing wrong with my sprint but it doesn't feel as gratifying, you don't feel like you've really deserved it as much.''
Sheridan will be tough to beat in the absence of Cheatley, 2010 winner Rushlee Buchanan and Jo Kiesanowski. She rated Aucklanders Emily Collins and Emma Crum as threats but few in the field have the experience and strength of the 26-year-old.
She will be riding in the colours of New Zealand team Mico-Pro Train Racing and is hoping to be picked up for a stint in Europe for an overseas team again this year.
For the last two years she has ridden in the Continent for six months at a time - last year she rode for United States team Tibco, who Kiesanowski represents - and said her experiences in Europe were formative to say the least.
"In the Netherlands it's like a different sport. You line up in any club race right through to the international races and there can be at least 150 to 200 girls on the start line. The roads over there are so narrow and you have what they call road furniture - islands and road signs - so you can imagine 200 girls all trying to race at the front at the same time. It's not like a bike race, it's like a boxing match. It's like a fight right from the gun.
"There are many crashes. When you race over there, crashing is normal.
"It toughened me up a lot. Tactics-wise I learned a lot. Strength-wise as well, having to jump in a full sprint almost out of every corner. And learning how to ride in the bunch. After racing in the Netherlands any bunch is so easy to ride in.''
The championships begin tomorrow with the men's and women's time trials at Lincoln. Sheridan will be focusing solely on the road race this year.
