Wes Gough kicked off the New Zealand Road Cycling Championships in Christchurch by taking the Elite men’s time trial title, betting on his second place last year.
Jason Christie (Mid-South Canterbury) won the men’s Under 23 title in a time of 49:41.56. Michael Vink (Canterbury) was second at 9 seconds, with Alex McGregor (Otago) third at a more distant 1:43.
Gough, a member of New Zealand's team pursuit squad, took advantage of favourable winds to scorch home in the 40km time trial in 48:50.48. This broke the record set by Gordon McCauley in winning on the same course in 50:10 last year.
Gough (Waipukurau) scored a telling result to beat fellow pursuit teammate Jesse Sergent (Feilding) and Melbourne-based Greg Henderson by 28 seconds and 1 min 07sec respectively.
"It was a really quick time and some fast conditions today. I was actually quite surprised myself with the time when I crossed the line," Gough said. "It's great to win after coming second last year.”
"The goal was definitely to win although there some strong riders today. At this time of year riders are at varying levels of fitness and you just never know. I was one of the early riders and it was a bit of a waiting game until the others came through. It was pleasing for me and a pleasing start to the year for my Subway team.”
"I haven't thought about the time trial going forward. My first priority will still be the team pursuit on the track for the London Olympics. But I would like to continue with some good TT results during the year."
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'It’s only natural that if three, four or five of us can win and nobody sets the pace or leads the way, it’s going to be more of a battle than a team race'
