SUBWAY® Pro Cycling has successful National Club Championships

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling ended a very successful four months with its riders winning the senior time trial, road race, under-23 road race and under-19 time trial titles at the RaboDirect New Zealand Club Championships in Hawkes Bay.  

Sam Horgan, riding for his Canterbury club Pegasus, entered the senior time trial as defending champion and was one of the favourites in the road race. His unheralded younger SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team mate Simon Binney was competing at the Club Nationals for the first time with only one club race win to his name prior to Sunday.

Tauranga based Binney rode strongly and by the third lap of the 28 kilometre circuit was the only under 23-rider near the front of the combined senior and under 23-event.

“It is without doubt my best win ever,” Binney said. “It’s only the second win I’ve ever had on a road bike,” the former mountain biker said. “I’m stoked, really rapt.”

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling General Manager Hayden Godfrey said he was very pleased with the Club National’s results for members of his team riding for their clubs, singling out Binney for praise.       

“Simon has been quietly going about his business and building up more experience and to see him win a national title is great reward for the effort he has been putting in. We knew he had good potential and took a bit of a punt signing him for the team, but this result more than justifies that decision.”

Godfrey says he now looks forward to Binney building on this success and pushing for inclusion for SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s larger events like the Tour of Southland.

Horgan only returned from the Tour de Korea last week and was a little uncertain about how he would back up from the gruelling tour but defended his time trial title in impressive fashion last Thursday. He also won Sunday’s road race in a sprint from Dan Warren (Ramblers Cycling Club Inc) and Andy Hagan (Port Nicholson Poneke Cycling Club).

His four hour and 27 seven minute victory was hard-earned after a brave seven-strong group had gone early in the six-lap race and had established a five minute 40 second lead approaching the halfway point of the race.

Horgan and Hagan worked hard and eventually caught the leaders on the final lap with Horgan proving too strong in the final sprint. The double win matches his Club Nationals Under 23 effort in 2009.

“It was so hard,” Horgan said. “I thought that four minutes was about as much as we could let the leaders go. When we heard it was 5:30 it meant we had to go much earlier than I had wanted. It took everything to catch them.”

Starting in January with a runner up effort to his teammate Paul Odlin in the National Elite time trial against some of the country’s best professionals, Horgan has had the best five months of his career.

As well as wining the Oceania time trial in Queenstown, Le Race and the Tour of Canterbury and breaking Odlin’s Canterbury Time Trial Association record in March, Horgan also won two stages of the Tour de Lakes last month before racing in Korea.

“I’m looking forward to a break now before building up again in the spring and working towards The Tour of Southland and then January’s elite nationals,” Horgan said.

On the first day of the championships SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s Dylan Kennett (Pegasus) won the under-19 time trial in impressive fashion with his 33 minute 51 second time the fastest of the day over all the grades.

Kennett punctured in the under-19 road race twice which took him out of contention.
The team now turns its attention to round three of the Benchmark Homes Elite Racing Series being held near Rangiora in Canterbury on Saturday 19 May.