Rev Cycle race sees return of former world champion

Waikato’s Rev Cycle Festival will see former world champion Hayden Godfrey return to road racing after an extended break of nine months.

The SUBWAY® Pro Cycling Team rider sustained injuries from a collision with a vehicle early last year which cost him a place in the national squad for the world track cycling championships in Denmark in March.

Ongoing problems and niggling injuries then hampered his training and racing for most of last year which resulted in Godfrey making himself unavailable for the Commonwealth Games.

“After last year’s crash I tried to rush back too quickly to try and make the World Champs team and then things just unravelled but it did allow me to focus on other things and I’m really looking forward to racing again now.”

“The Rev’s (Rev Cycle Classic) is always an important race for the (SUBWAY®) team and I’m personally really looking forward to being back on the start line of a road race.”

The SUBWAY® Pro Cycling Team for the event also includes Commonwealth Games medallist Jason Allen, experienced cyclists Paul Odlin and Sam Horgan and Matt Gorter, who is continuing to build form and fitness after illness kept him off the bike for the second half of last year.

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling Team members Westley Gough and Pete Latham were not available to race as they will be competing for New Zealand in a World Cup track cycling event in Manchester.

Godfrey said he expects the team to be “very competitive” in the race and thought Gorter and Odlin in particular should be in the mix at the finish.

The 120 kilometre Rev Classic is being held in Hamilton on Saturday 19 February, and is a key race for the SUBWAY® Pro Cycling Team as the UCI registered professional team builds for its first international race of the year in Singapore in early March.