Cycling: Gough's switching focus to road race

Westley Gough

Hawke's Bay cyclist Westley Gough, a double Olympic medallist, has announced his retirement from track to focus on road racing.

The 27-year-old, who has been part of New Zealand track cycling teams for a decade, has joined Australian based Budget Forklifts team, a UCI Oceania Continental team which competes in the National Racing Series across the Tasman.

"It's been an honour to represent my country at the highest level. But I believe now is the right time for me to step aside and focus on some new goals, both on and off the bike," Gough said.

Waipukurau's Gough became a junior world champion in the team pursuit in 2005 and claimed two world championship silver medals in the team pursuit and individual pursuit the following year. He was part of the team which won bronze medals in the team pursuit at the Beijing and London Olympics, and three team pursuit medals at the world championships.

The highlight came with a bronze medal in the individual pursuit at the world championships in Melbourne in 2012.

Last year Gough returned from a long-term injury to form part of the Cycling New Zealand endurance squad, with a youthful combination, winning the world championship title in the team pursuit in February.

Gough had to do things the hard way in his early days in track cycling, with no indoor velodrome in the country at that stage, and no velodrome of any kind in Hawke's Bay.

"My dad, Rod, and Ross Pepper would drive me to Feilding every Thursday to train with Jesse Sergent and his coach on the concrete track there. I certainly would not have been able to achieve what I have without the support of my family and many other people in Hawke's Bay."

In recent years the construction of an indoor velodrome at Invercargill and Avantidrome in Cambridge, has made a massive impact on the sport.

"It's amazing to see how far the sport has come in 10 years," Gough added.