NZ cyclist Regan Gough: The ‘final straw’ that ended a career at age 27

Regan Gough says the last two years of his pro-cycling career have been 'a bit of a mission'. Photo / Aaron Gillions - Photosport

Regan Gough just wants to wake up one day feeling like “a million bucks”, and he’s prepared to walk away from the sport he loves to do it.

The Central Hawke’s Bay pro-cyclist, who won a team pursuit World Championship gold medal in 2015, is just 27, but he’s retiring for a healthier future.

Gough, a two-time Olympian, currently living in Cambridge with his wife Poppy and daughter Evie, called time on his career on Wednesday, which has highlights that include a pursuit gold in 2015 and world championship silvers in 2017 and 2020.

But the last two years have been, in his own words, “a bit of a mission”.

“I’ve had a lot of illness which has impeded on training. I broke my foot in November, which has pretty much been the final straw,” Gough said.

Enforced rest meant he could get his health right, having endured a catalogue of illnesses since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, including Long Covid, influenza, tonsillitis, bronchitis, a sinus infection and appendicitis.

But it also meant the race for selection for the Paris Olympics later this year was a step too far.

“Although it’s not exactly how you want to go out, I’m pretty content and proud of what I’ve done,” he said.

Gough was the country’s most successful junior rider, with six medals at the Junior World Track Championships, including titles in the madison (with fellow Hawkes Bay rider, Luke Mudgway) and the points race. He was part of the pursuit team that finished fourth at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

“Tokyo will definitely hold a very fond piece of my heart. We went from an eighth-ranked team to breaking the world record in the first round,” he says.

Gough looks back with fondness on his early cycling years in Central Hawke’s Bay.

“We had a hell of a group of guys all riding and racing in that period, and that’s really what started it all. The clubs and the people around the clubs supported our addiction and competitiveness.

“Ivar Hopman was almost the godfather of cycling, and particularly juniors, through that period. Rob Oliver was a great supporter of all of us and me in particular, even to this day. I’m very thankful for those guys.”

Gough isn’t sure what’s next, but after the last few years, he understands what’s really important.

“You’re nothing without your health, so that’s my number-one priority. If I can take a day where I can get out of bed and feel like a million bucks, it’s more important that a gold medal, that’s for sure.”

Aiden McLaughlin is a freelance sport reporter based in Hawke’s Bay.