Festival fever for Subway Avanti's fastman

Dec 4th, 09.  He's the current National Club Champion and a previous winner at the Armstrong Festival of Cycling. Hayden Godfrey is eager to test his form this weekend.

Hayden Godfrey in China ©Paul Larkin

"I think events like the Festival of Cycling are great to get recreational riders on bikes and a great opportunity to have fun and experience racing at all levels."

"These events are also really important to teams like Subway Avanti as they present a good marketing opportunity," Godfrey told RoadCycling.co.nz.

Godfrey has had a busy start to the NZ summer season of cycling. After returning from the US he raced and won the road race at the National Club Championships,  raced for his Subway Avanti team at the PowerNet Tour of Southland and then in the Tour of Hainan, China.  

It's taken a bit for the Christchurch based rider to recover, but he's ready to test his form this weekend.

"I took a week off the bike then started training again only to realise I needed some more time off. Two tours, 15 days of racing with an average distance of 158km per day takes a while to recover from," he said.

"I think most of the Subway Avanti riders who did both Southland and China are in the same boat. The guys who fronted for Taupo last week for Subway Avanti were all still feeling a bit flat."

Although Godfrey won the Avanti Long Bays race in 2006, this year he's looking at more of a supporting roll on the Harbour ride.  He's focussing on the Criterium which he says suits his abilities.

"I haven't raced or done much training since the Tour of Hainan so it will be interesting to see how my form shapes up," said last year's Track World Champion.

Commenting on the growing number of teams challenging Subway Avanti's monopoly, Godfrey said, "Teams racing is really getting going in NZ now with teams like Benchmark Homes, Ultimo, Bici Vida and Team Carbon Zero all looking to make a impact for their sponsors and riders."

"There's no doubt a well organised team that works well together is hard to beat even if it doesn't have the strongest riders on the day. The Subway Avanti guys have all raced a fair amount together lately and so I would expect to see some team tactics play a part in both the Harbour ride and the Criterium results," he added.

Godfrey acknowledged his and his teammates' local knowledge might come in handy this weekend.

"The Long Bays is a short race but there's definitely some advantage knowing the course, although it's quite a simple race to read. For me usually the hills are my undoing so I tend to look at helping my team mates. I think Vink, Williamson and Horgan all have a good chance of being in the mix at the end. Horgan and Vink being local will know the course well," he said.

Other articles on the Armstrong Motor Group Festival of Cycling, Christchurch 5-6 December.

• Alex Ray out sprints world class field
• Aussie wins Festival of Cycling Criterium
• Favourites win Long Bays Classic
• Long Bays Classic Results
• Bici Vida ready for the Festival
• Festival fever for Subway Avanti's fastman
• Another team joins the revolution
• Rider list for Elite criterium
• Rider list for Elite Road Race
• Track stars sign for Festival of Cycling
• Team Carbon Zero gear up for debut
• Home advantage for Benchmark Homes Team
• Bauer keen on Festival of Cycling criterium
• Southland winner heads to Festival of Cycling