Odlin flies SUBWAY® Pro Cycling colours at the Front

Odlin flies SUBWAY® Pro Cycling colours at the front for the last time
3 December 2012

Paul Odlin from the SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team made sure the team’s colours flew at the front of a bike race for the last time in yesterday’s Benchmark Homes Festival of Cycling elite men's criterium in Christchurch.

Racing as a pro team for the final time the SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team featured prominently. Odlin lit the race up with an early move that saw him escape off the front while his teammates covered any moves from the chasing bunch.

Olympian Shane Archbold won the criterium despite crashing twice during the race, edging out Odlin and defending champion Tom Scully in a final hectic sprint featuring five breakaway riders.

Odlin attacked early in the race and was joined by Node-4’s Matt Cronshaw and Grayson Napier. Cronshaw’s team mate and race favourite, Mike Northey made it across to the leaders that then saw Cronshaw and Napier drop back to the chasing bunch. Odlin and Northey were eventually caught by a hard working Archbold, Scully and Hamish Schreurs (Benchmark Homes) to set up the exciting sprint finish.

The race marked the end of an era for the SUBWAY® Pro Cycling team after an eight year existence. Odlin was disappointed that he could not secure a win for the team in its final race, despite his efforts and some good tactical racing from the team.

"It was disappointing to miss a win for Subway in our final race. We do have a policy in the team - first is first and second isn't anywhere,” Odlin said. “But it was good to ride hard and I certainly created a good opportunity against a very strong field.”

The closing stages of the race also saw SUBWAY® Pro Cycling’s Nick Lovegrove make a bold attempt to get across to the leaders, just falling short but finishing sixth to record his best criterium result.

SUBWAY® Pro Cycling General Manager Hayden Godfrey said he was pleased with the team’s performance in its last race. “They rode well as a team,” he said. “We went in with a plan, executed it well and almost finished it off against the strongest field we’ve had for a criterium in New Zealand for some time.”

The weekend also saw former Olympian and Commonwealth Games representative Pete Latham ride his last race as a professional. Latham, who has been riding for SUBWAY® Pro Cycling for two years, retired after the criterium, finishing fourteenth in the chasing bunch.
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Photo credit: Bruce Wilson/Tailwind Events. Paul Odlin goes hard of the front of yesterdays Benchmark Homes Festival of Cycling elite men's criterium in Christchurch

results, top 10;
1st SHANE ARCHBOLD 48:26; 2nd PAUL ODLIN 48:27;3rd TOM SCULLY 48:27 and over
4th MIKE NORTHEY 48:28;5th HAMISH SCHREURS 48:28; 6th NICK LOVEGROVE 48:30;
7th AARON GATE 48:31;8th ALEX FRAME 48:32; 9th GEERT-JAN JONKMAN 48:32; 10th WESTLEY GOUGH 48:32

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