With just a handful of days until the peloton tackles the opening stage of the first WorldTour race of the year, the BMC Racing Team is one of many making their final preparations for the event.
The squad has outlined its plan of action for the race and also Sunday’s Down Under Classic criterium in Adelaide, which takes place two days before the start of the stage race and allows riders to both loosen up and also to assess the form of the opposition.
The American ProTeam will back one of its youngest riders in the latter. “With the criterium, we'll work for Adam Blythe to try to do something,” explained assistant directeur sportif Rik Verbrugghe. “For the race itself, our goal is to get our main riders in the top ten of the general classification.”
The former pro didn’t explain which leaders he was referring to, but it’s likely that former world road race champion Alessandro Ballan and Paris-Tours winner Greg Van Avermaet may be amongst the protected riders.
The riders have used their time in Australia to both get used to the temperature and the time zone differences, and also to check out the race route. “It was good to see some of the stages,” said the German Marcus Burghardt.
“This year, I'm not having as much trouble with the jet lag and it's also good that it's not so hot here. So it's been easier to adapt.”
The BMC Racing Team riders will tomorrow do a reconnaissance of what is likely to be one of the most crucial stages in the 2012 race, namely the fifth leg to Old Willunga Hill. Unlike previous years, the stage will finish at the summit, meaning that it will potentially be one of the big deciders in the race.
If the BMC Racing Team riders are to achieve the goal of top ten overall finishes in the race, a strong performance on that climb will be important.
Ballan clocked up stage finishes of seventh and eighth last year. He was best of the BMC Racing Team riders in eleventh overall, 28 seconds behind the winner Cameron Meyer.