Odlin upsets Sergent on opening day of nationals
Vink takes out under 23 title
Canterbury's Paul Odlin upset the field to win the men's time trial at the RaboDirect Elite National Championships in Christchurch today.
Odlin clocked 49 minutes 35 seconds for the 40km journey near Lincoln College to finish 21 seconds ahead of his Subway Pro Cycling teammate Sam Horgan with favourite Jesse Sergent third.
Canterbury's Michael Vink made it two wins in three years in the under-23 event.
Odlin, a father of two, mixes work with his passion, as a cycling coach in Christchurch, and he gave his clients the perfect lesson in time trialling today.
He was runner-up four years ago but went one better with a gutsy performance today.
"I'm fortunate to coach and be able to integrate my training into my work which is great," Odlin said. "And I am so grateful for the support I get from Subway Pro Cycling team with the bike, the support and the input from guys like Hayden Godfrey.
"I had some of my clients out supporting me today which was great."
The Cantabrian pushed hard over the first half but had to fight the demons on the return leg of the 40km test.
"I felt really good going out. I knew it would be hard coming back so took that into my planning. I struggled though but everyone did. It was a matter of digging deep and hanging on.
"It's quite a thrill to win this title for sure."
Odlin said the one-two finish for his Subway Pro Cycling team is a real boost ahead of Sunday's men's road race.
"This shows that Subway are here and going to be a force. This result gives us some confidence for Sunday and I am sure as a team we will have a good race."
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Paul Odlin (Subway Pro Cycling, Canterbury) | 0:49:35 |
2 | Sam Horgan (Subway Pro cycling, Canterbury) | 0:49:56 |
3 | Jesse Sergent (East Coast North Island) | 0:50:03 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Vink (Mico Protrain, Canterbury) | 0:49:48 |
2 | Jason Christie (Mid South Canterbury) | 0:50:30 |
3 | Fraser Gough (East Coast North Island) | 0:50:39 |
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Ruben Guerreiro given yellow card for sparking Tour of Oman stage 2 crash
Teammate Ivan Roméo also given card at Volta a Valenciana for pushing Gianni Vermeersch off road -
Cowboy bar part of unique path at Rock Cobbler 12.0 for wins by Lance Haidet, Ruth Holcomb - Gallery
Peter Stetina goes back-to-back in extended Boulder Cobbler -
Three Days of Grenoble track meet cancelled due to financial and infrastructure problems
Event founded in 1971 and revived in 2023 and 2024 lost €25,000 per edition -
Best energy gels for cycling: Quick hits of carbohydrates for all your athletic endeavours
The best energy gels for cycling can boost your rides, races and workouts