Gregory Henderson (born 10 September 1976) is a New Zealand former professional track and

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2017. His career includes winning the scratch race at the 2004 world championships and, in road cycling, winning the points competition at the

Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage ra ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and 2008. Henderson rode in five

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and completed 11 Grand Tours. He also competed in four

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and was a four-time medallist, including winning gold in the points race in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. During an important part of his career, he served as

André Greipel André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German cyclist, who rode professionally in road bicycle racing between 2005 and 2021. Since his retirement from road racing, Greipel has worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental teams and , and in ...

's main lead-out man, and they were colleagues at both and later . In addition to 17 New Zealand track and road titles and eight World Cup track golds, Henderson has been New Zealand Track Cyclist of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003) and Athlete of the Year, Otago, New Zealand (2001, 2002, 2003).

Career

Track cycling

At the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

Henderson won bronze medals in the points race and the team pursuit."1998 Commonwealth Games Track Competition" Malaysia
16–19 September 1998 cyclingnews.com He won gold in the points race and bronze again in the team pursuit at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

. He won the

scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

at the

2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship set of events for track cycling. Both men's and women's events took place, with nine men's events and six women's events. They took place in Melbourne Melbourne ...

. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

he finished fourth in the

points race A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men from 1984 to 2008 and for women from 1996 to 2008. Since 2012, the points race has been one of the omniu ...

and seventh in the madison.Greg Henderson
sports-reference.com His best placing in the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

was 10th in the scratch race. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

he finished tenth in the

and the madison.

Road cycling

In 2005, he won the points competition at the

and

International Tour de Toona The International Tour de Toona was a stage bicycle race held in Central Pennsylvania in July from 1987 until 2011. The event became the largest pro-am cycling event in North America and had stages spanning Blair County, Pennsylvania, Blair, Camb ...

. In 2006, he recovered from early injuries and won the inaugural Pro Cycling Tour (PCT) Reading Classic. In 2009, he won the

Clásica de Almería The Clásica de Almería () is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February or March in Almería, Spain, starting and finishing in Almería itself. Established in 1986, the race was run as an amateur event in its first six years. In 1 ...

in Spain, the second stage of Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, and the third stage of the Vuelta a España on his Grand Tour debut. In 2010, he won the first stage of the Paris–Nice. In 2011, he won stage 2 of Paris–Nice and stage 3 of the Tour of California. Henderson left Team Sky at the end of 2011, and joined , mainly to act as lead-out man for Andre Greipel. He credited his success in this role to the positioning skills which he developed as a track rider, and having to compete against quicker road sprinters such as Greipel,

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

and

Marcel Kittel Marcel Kittel (born 11 May 1988) is a German former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the , and squads. As a junior, he specialised in time trials, even winning a bronze medal in the World Championships for cycli ...

. In April 2015, he expressed his opinion on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that

Fabio Aru Fabio Aru (born 3 July 1990) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2021 for the , and squads. He hails from San Gavino Monreale in Sardinia, and is known for his climbing ability, which m ...

of rival team missed the

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino () until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy. In 2015, th ...

not because of illness as it was announced, but because he had an ongoing investigation into his biological passport for doping. Henderson apologised shortly after. He competed in the 2016 Tour de France. In August 2017 Henderson announced his retirement from competition, having competed in his last race, the 2017 Colorado Classic, and indicated that he would move into full-time coaching, having trained athletes since 2014. The following month he was announced as Endurance Performance Director for

USA Cycling USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability levels. ...

Personal life

He is married to the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n cyclist Katie Mactier. He has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Physical Education from the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Major results

Road

;1996 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Championships ;1997 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

, National Under-23 Championships ;1998 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

, National Under-23 Championships ;1999 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships : Tour of Wellington ::1st Stages 3 & 10 ;2000 : 1st Stage 2 Tour of Wellington : National Road Championships ::2nd Road race ::2nd

: 2nd

Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in the municipality of Kruibeke, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are ...

;2001 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships : 1st Stage 5 Bay Classic Series ;2002 : 1st Tour de Loveland : 10th First Union Invitational ;2003 : 1st Stage 7

Tour of Southland The Tour of Southland is a road bicycle racing stage race held in the Southland region of New Zealand. From 2005 until 2009, the Tour of Southland has been part of the UCI Oceania Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ...

;2004 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships :

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 1 ( TTT), 8 & 10 ;2005 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships : 1st Wachovia Invitational :

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 7 : 1st Jersey green

Sprints classification,

: 5th Overall

::1st Stages 1 ( TTT), 4, 9 & 10 ;2006 : 1st Philadelphia International Championship : 1st Reading Classic : 1st Stage 7 Tour of Wellington : 1st Stage 5

: 2nd Overall Bay Classic Series ::1st Stage 1 : 6th Road race,

;2007 : 5th Overall Tour of Qatar ;2008 :

::1st

Sprints classification ::1st Stages 3 & 7 : 7th

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a road bicycle racing, cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a UCI race cla ...

;2009 : 1st

: 1st Stage 3

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

: 1st Stage 2

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...

: 1st Stage 7

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

: 2nd Philadelphia International Championship : 5th Overall

Three Days of De Panne 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

;2010 : 1st Down Under Classic :

::1st Stages 1 ( TTT), 4 & 9 : 1st Stage 1

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

: 1st Stage 3

Ster Elektrotoer The ZLM Tour is a cycling race held over five stages, held in the southern Netherlands and Belgium as a 2.Pro race on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road bicycle racer, road cycling tour. It was inaugurate ...

: 1st Stage 4 Eneco Tour : 2nd Overall Bay Classic Series ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

: 4th

;2011 : 1st Stage 2

: 1st Stage 3

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the ...

: National Road Championships ::2nd Road race ::3rd

: 3rd

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

;2012 : 1st Stage 1 Bay Classic Series : 7th

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (Championship of Flanders) or Koolskamp Koerse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Koolskamp (part-municipality of Ardooie), West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom ...

: 9th Down Under Classic ;2013 : 2nd Overall Bay Classic Series : 3rd Down Under Classic ;2014 : 1st Stage 2

Ster ZLM Toer The ZLM Tour is a cycling race held over five stages, held in the southern Netherlands and Belgium as a 2.Pro race on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road bicycle racer, road cycling tour. It was inaugurat ...

: 3rd Ronde van Limburg : 4th Overall World Ports Classic : 7th Road race,

;2015 : 2nd Overall Bay Classic Series ::1st Stage 4 : 10th Down Under Classic ;2016 : 6th Overall Tour of Turkey

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Track

;1998 :

::3rd

Points race ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Team pursuit ;1999 : National Championships ::1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Team pursuit ::1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Points race : UCI World Cup Classics, Mexico City ::2nd Team pursuit ::3rd Madison ;2000 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Team pursuit, National Championships : 2nd Six Days of Nouméa ;2001 :

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

::1st Points race ::1st Madison : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Points race, National Championships ;2002 :

::1st

Points race ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Team pursuit : UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney ::1st Team pursuit ::1st Madison ::3rd Points race ;2003 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Madison, National Championships : UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney ::1st Scratch ::3rd Points race : 2nd Silver medal uci

Madison,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

(with

Hayden Roulston Hayden Roulston (born 10 January 1981) is a New Zealand former professional racing cyclist. He won the silver medal in the men's 4000 m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000 m team pursuit at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beiji ...

) ;2004 : 1st Rainbow Jersey Track

Scratch,

: 2nd Scratch, UCI World Cup Classics, Aguascalientes ;2005 : UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney ::1st Team pursuit ::3rd Scratch : 2nd Silver medal uci

Scratch,

;2006 : Oceania Games ::1st Points race ::1st Scratch : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Points race, National Championships : 2nd Points race, UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney ;2007 : Oceania Championships ::1st OceaniaChampionJersey

Madison ::2nd Points race ::2nd Scratch : 1st Points race, UCI World Cup Classics, Sydney

References

External links