The Subway-Avanti Pro Cycling team have named a strong line up to tackle the Powernet Tour of Southland early next month.
Team Co-owner Hayden Godfrey said a number of the team had put their hands up with some good recent results and that there were “no weak links” in the line up of six for the tour.
The team has tasted recent success with Nick Lovegrove winning the latest round of the National Points Series, the Round the Mountain Cycle Classic in Taranaki and Sam Horgan and Ian Smallman were first and second in the BRT Canterbury Open 100 kilometre champs last weekend.
Last month Joe Cooper won the Air France Tour of New Caledonia where he was well supported by Lovegrove who finished 14th and James Williamson performed well in Tour of the Murray River in Australia and then won a tough Benchmark Series round in Canterbury.
Michael Vink has had the winter racing in Europe and raced in last week’s World Championships in Geelong, Australia and Horgan and Williamson have also both had recent northern hemisphere racing.
The team also competed in the highest cycle stage race in the world, the Tour de Qinghai Lake in China in July, where Subway-Avanti’s newest signing Smallman, a former national representative rower, proved himself as a valuable hardworking team member.
“Joe has had good recent form and the team will be working for his position on GC (general classification),” Godfrey said.
“It is a strong all round team who have all proved themselves over the last few months. James was disappointed to miss out on a position to race at the Under 23’s at the World Champs so will have a point to prove.”
The Subway-Avanti team for Powernet Tour of Southland team is:
Joe Cooper, Nick Lovegrove, James Williamson, Michael Vink, Sam Horgan and Ian Smallman.