Cycling: Coffee ideal fuel for Gough's national title

BAY WINNER: Hawke's Bay's Regan Gough is interviewed by race commentator Jon Bridges after winning the under-23 time trial title. PHOTO/DUNCAN BROWN

Some may argue there is little time for a coffee break when it comes to a 40km time trial cycling event.

But the coach of Hawke's Bay Olympian and multiple world champion Regan Gough was toasting a coffee break after the Waipukurau 20-year-old won the under-23 40km time trial title for the first time as the elite events of the national road race championships began in Taradale yesterday.

"Regan had a break from coffee for a month just to be prepared for this event and resumed drinking it a couple of days ago to make sure he was used to it again," coach Ivar Hopman explained.

"The process does not work very well if you continue your regular coffee drinking habits during the buildup to a major event. You lay off it for a while and the caffeine hit is a lot higher when you resume drinking it," Hopman added.

A fortnight ago Hopman predicted Gough would win tomorrow's 180km under-23 road race title and yesterday he said that prediction still stood.

"The road race is a different beast and Regan has Saturday to rest up. Today was all about the survival of the strongest and Regan had the fastest split after one lap. He had a 30s lead and at the end of the race he was ahead by 20s. Yes he lost 10s but a 1s win is enough at this level," Hopman added.

A regular morning coffee drinker, Gough, said it was the first time he had interrupted the morning routine.

"It was something new I thought I would try but we will have to wait and see if I do it again."

The 2015 Hawke's Bay Sportsperson of the Year Award winner was thrilled to win the title on home soil.

"A bit of on-course knowledge helped. Because of the event it was I'm certainly happy ... it was brutal. So it was as case of finding holes and trying to get through. I left everything I had in me out there," Central Hawke's Bay College product and a former two-time winner of the Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools Sportsperson of the Year award said.

When quizzed if he could back up Hopman's prediction with another title tomorrow Gough replied: "It's achievable and something I've got in my mind. But you never know what will be thrown down on the day. I'm just going to have to adapt to the circumstances I'm in and play it by ear."

Gough, a member of the An Post-Chain Reaction team, will still be in recovery mode today. However he will still go for a spin as part of that process.

"It will be nothing too hard or nothing too long."

On January 16 Gough will travel to Berlin for a six-day tour. Aucklander James Fouche finished second to Gough and Canterbury's Jake Marryatt was third.

Golden Bay professional Jack Bauer, 31, celebrated his first outing in Quick-Step Floors team colours by winning the elite men's 40km title. Last year's road race title winner, Ashburton's Jason Christie, was 21s behind and two-time Olympic rowing champion Hamish Bond, in his first venture into championship racing, was third, 1m12s slower than Bauer.

"That was so hard. That course was tough with the climb, and I had forgotten about how dead the New Zealand roads are with the big chip, and added to that the wind was quite strong," Bauer said.

"I am so thrilled to win this national title and to be able to take the national jersey back to Europe for my new team. I had no expectations today as it was more of a 40km hit-out for my major goal of the road championship on Sunday."

Another Olympian, Waikato professional Rushlee Buchanan, had her hopes of retaining her elite women's time trial-road race double dashed when she finished third in her 20km time trial behind winner Jaime Nielsen of Waikato and Aucklander Georgia Williams. It was Nielsen's third national time trial title.

"I was a bit nervous today and there were some changes to the course. I went really hard but felt it in the latter stages of the race," Nielsen said.

"I was targeting this race after Rio and prepared really well for it. It's always an honour to win a national title and I am really pleased," she added.
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