Gough wears national champ colours for first time

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s Gough wears national champ colours for first time

3 August 2011

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s Westley Gough will wear his black and white National time trial champion colours for the first time when the team races its last North American event this week.

Starting on Friday in the greater Chicago area, The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove is a three day UCI 2.2 tour event featuring 15 professional teams, including Bissell Pro Cycling, V Australia, United Heathcare and the Jelly Belly Cycling Team as well as the Columbian National Cycling team.

It has one of the biggest total cash prize pools for an event of its kind anywhere in the world, starting with a seven kilometre individual time trial, followed by a 156 kilometre road race on Saturday and finishing with a circuit race on Sunday.

After a good training block leading up to the tour Gough has high hopes of a strong showing and is proud to be wearing the national champion colours in the opening prologue time trial.

“I’m feeling good and I’m really looking forward to this tour, the prologue especially,” Gough said.

“I'm expecting a good performance in the prologue, a podium would be great. There are some good riders, but of course I am aiming for the win. I'm sure I’m going to be in the mix, I’ll just give it everything I’ve got on the day and hope it’s enough for a result.”

Gough says a good result in the opening time trial could set him up well for an overall good result in the tour so is also aiming for two good road stages to back up from after the time trial.

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s General Manager Hayden Godfrey said hot weather conditions would probably be a factor to consider.

“Chicago has had some very hot conditions lately so it’s extremely likely to affect the riders racing,” he said.

“How they manage themselves in the heat will be important. The team have had some excellent racing over the last few months in the United States which will have set them up well for the end of season racing in New Zealand. I expect Wes (Gough) could pull something special out in the TT; he is really focused on it and wants to do the national champs jersey proud.”

“(Matt) Gorter is getting better and better with each race and (Nick) Lovegrove is really flying at the moment. It would be nice to close the US trip with good results in Elk Grove. It’s an awesome event and a great way to finish off the North American campaign.”

After returning from the United States the SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team lines up for the first race of the Benchmark elite racing series in Nelson on 13 August.

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team for The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove is Dillion Bennet, Westley Gough, Matt Gorter, Nick Lovegrove and Joseph Kukolla (US).

The Subway Pro Cycling Team was New Zealand’s first professional cycling team, established six years ago. It has been registered as a UCI Continental team since early 2009 with a successful track record of racing in New Zealand, Asia and the United States.

www.subwaycycling.co.nz

ENDS

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