The 28-year-old rider is poised to make his debut in the Tour de France after being named in the EF Education First-Drapac team.
It will be three weeks of mostly guts and little glory as Scully’s job is to support team leader Rigoberto Uran, who shapes as a genuine contender after finishing second behind Team Sky’s Chris Froome last year.
Tom’s father, Matt Scully, knows a bit about gutsing it out as a domestique. He used to regularly taxi his son from Cromwell to Invercargill or Bluff so he could attend the various cycling events.
Back then, Tom was a promising rugby player whose claim to fame was representing the Otago under-48kg team alongside future Olympic silver medallist and Black Fern Kelly Brazier. It was his dad who talked him into focusing on cycling and who supported him through those formative years.
He was thrilled his son would get to tick off what is a major bucket list item for any cyclist when the race gets under way early next month.
"He rang me a couple of days ago and told me he was in the team," Matt said.
"It had sort of been on the cards for a few months ... and he has been silently working away at it."
Tom was 15 when he transferred from Cromwell College to Verdon College and narrowed his focus. But before that Matt would drive him south so he could attend races on the Sunday after Saturday rugby games.
"I’d follow along in the Holden handing out the drink bottles. There were lots of parents doing that.
"They were long days, but fun times as well."
The irony is part of Tom’s role will be to drop back and pick up the odd drink bottle from the support fleet and then deliver it to higher-ranked riders.
Matt did his part all those years ago when he gave his son some great advice along with those water bottles.
"Tom had to chose between rugby and cycling and I gave him a nudge towards cycling.
"I was a nutty rugby player but I thought you could go further in cycling.
"He was showing potential right from an early age and he just loved it. He had the will and started training quite hard.
"It took him a while to win a race but when he did win one he said ‘this is all right’."
Scully’s participation in the great race, which starts next weekend, will take New Zealand’s tally to four riders.
