Road race specialist Gordon McCauley claimed a record fifth men's title at the national road championships in Te Awamutu yesterday.
His Subway Avanti trade team dominated the 180km race to shut out the challenge from two-time champion Julian Dean and fellow European-based professionals Tim Gudsell and Greg Henderson.
Subway Avanti worked to take control on the first lap, remaining clear despite the late attentions of the peloton, and dominated the first four placings.
It was a triumph for veteran McCauley, who surpassed the previous record of four national road titles won by Jack Swart to go with his two New Zealand time trail titles.
McCauley won the sprint ahead of teammates Joseph Cooper of Wellington and Jason Allen of Christchurch in a time of 4h 19m 25s, with the peloton 47s behind.
"It was a win for the team," McCauley said. "I feel a bit for my teammates because they gave everything today but someone had to win.
"It looks like I'll be the donkey doing the work for them for the rest of the season."
McCauley was right at home when overcast conditions gave way to winds and rain for much of the six laps on undulating terrain. "The rainier, the windier, the crappier, the better it is for me," he said.
McCauley has no plans of retiring just yet, and aims to make the New Zealand team for next year's Commonwealth Games in India.
"I've ridden three [Commonwealth Games] before and I am clearly not slowing down. Staying in New Zealand and no longer being based in Europe or America works for me because I can focus on my training."
McCauley said his team knew they had to make a telling break if they were to succeed yesterday.
"Julian Dean is a world class rider. He regularly gets top-10s at the Tour de France.
"If I came to the finish with him I was going to lose so I needed to be as far out in front as I could. That was the reason for the tactics today."
A frustrated Dean, who was seeking his third straight crown, wasn't connected to a team.
"While a breakaway was always going to be a threat on a course like this which is not that tough, we still had our chances to close the gap," Dean said.
