Waiotira-raised cyclist Nick Lovegrove endured tough climbs, long stages and racing in freezing conditions to complete a successful Tour de Korea with the Subway Pro Cycling team.
The 29-year-old Auckland-based lawyer was part of a team including Hamilton's Matt Gorter, Christchurch's Jason Allen, Paul Odlin and Sam Horgan, along with Waipukurau's
Westley Gough, who raced over 10 days and 1335km, from Gumi to Seoul.
Odlin was the team's best placed performer, finishing 30th overall and earning the Sprint Classification jersey - a huge result given the quality of the field, Lovegrove said.
"We all worked really hard for Paul to help him pick up the sprint points on offer in the middle of the stages. I finished towards the end of the pack but we weren't riding for a top place, as our focus was on the sprint jersey," he said.
Lovegrove was pleased with his personal performance during the tour, making a couple of breakaway moves and helping lead Odlin out for the sprint points.
"It was a difficult tour with around 45 riders pulling out for various reasons during the race. The most withdrawals came on the seventh stage, which was 192km raced in terrible conditions - it rained the whole day and at times the temperature dropped to just one degree which would have put it in the negatives taking the wind chill into account. Basically people just froze and couldn't continue - that was definitely the hardest part of the tour," he said.
The Counties Manukau club rider finished the stage with the rest of his teammates (except Gorter, who had to withdraw) and they were hypothermic. While they had great team support and were able to recover quickly, Lovegrove quipped he was still not able to feel his fingertips days after finishing the tour.
Competition was strong at the event, with professional teams from the US, England, Australia and throughout Asia racing, and the experience Lovegrove gained from riding in the tour was great.
"I learnt a lot from the race and in particular our director Graeme Miller [an Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist] who gave us the tactics and support on the road," he said.
Lovegrove will have a few days off before heading to Wanganui for the New Zealand Club Champs Road Race on May 8.
"A few of my Subway Pro Cycling teammates will also be there and hopefully we are able to carry some form through and knock out a good race," he said.
