Lovegrove aims to defend his title

The only thing harder than winning the Fred Ogle Memorial 110km Road Race will be defending the title says Subway Pro Cycling team rider Nick Lovegrove.

Thirty-year-old Lovegrove, who grew up in Northland, won the event comfortably in 2010, and is looking for a repeat on Sunday, fresh on the back of contesting the gruelling Powernet Tour of Southland last weekend.

Catching up with his folks in Whangarei and grandparents in Maungakaramea was a big incentive for Lovegrove returning north, after a hectic few months, which has seen the lawyer racing offshore in Korea and the United States before heading to Southland for last week's Tour.

Lovegrove put the experience he gained from racing in three previous Tour of Southland events to good use.

"It was a pretty solid tour for me. I managed to feature in a few key breakaways, spent some time as the virtual leader and nearly pulled off a stage win [he was second in stage three]," Lovegrove said.

His finish inside the top half of the field was not a bad showing for the Auckland-based lawyer who was riding against a lot of full time pro-riders. "The racing is so tough down there that it's really important to know how to position yourself in the bunch to keep out of the wind and knowing what moves will work and when to attack to make sure you don't waste energy.

"One of the biggest differences for me was I was generally stronger this year after a pretty solid season of racing which included the Tour of Korea and five weeks racing in the USA (with the Subway team).

"Being a bit stronger and probably being in the best form I've been in were the main difference," he added.

"The Tour of Southland is a really tough race and the body was definitely tired afterwards.

"A few days off the bike should freshen me up again and I plan to get a couple of short rides in over the next few days to ease back into it. It shouldn't be too difficult to back up this weekend and I expect the form will still be there," he said.

Lovegrove can expect some tough competition at Sunday's race, which also doubles as Northland Centre's Road Race Championships.

Lee Johnston will return to Northland from his new Christchurch residence to try for the Fred Ogle Trophy after placing second in 2010, lining up with up-and-coming local riders Ben Johnston, Matt Markby and Matt Andrew. The Avanti Plus Whangarei organiser said five-time New Zealand road champ Gordon McCauley was a possibility to enter the event.

In the women's race, for the Lynley McDonald Trophy, defending champion Chubby Hale, who won the event in 2009 and 2010, has entered along with 2008 champion Kim Reyburn.

The 110km event starts at 9am from Maungakahia Sports Complex on Sunday.

The route travels through the back of Jordan Valley to Hukerenui and returns to finish at the sports complex.

There are also 25km and 50km road races on Sunday.