GreenEdge sprinter Matt Goss has hailed the acquisition of a new sponsor, saying that the development is something which will help guarantee the future of the team.
The points classification jersey wearer was speaking to VeloNation prior to the start of stage six of the Presidential Tour of Turkey, and said that he was yet to be told who the newly-confirmed backer would be.
Team-mate Brett Lancaster also insisted he didn’t know the identity of the company in question.
The GreenEdge team announced Friday morning that a new title sponsor had been secured and would be announced on Tuesday.
“It is really good. We only know as much as everyone else at the moment so we will wait till Tuesday and find out who the new sponsor is,” Goss said in the video interview below. “But it is really exciting, it is great that somebody is coming on board to help with the funding of the team and to make sure of the longevity of the team.”
At the time, Goss had already finished second three times on sprints in the races. The third of those, Wednesday’s sprint into Marmaris, saw him edged out by compatriot Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) by an incredibly small margin. Precision photo finish equipment used by the race put the gap at an estimated three ten thousands of a second; it is believed to be the tightest margin ever.
That succession of runner-up slots was frustrating but things became even more so when he clocked up a fourth second place on Friday’s sixth stage to Kusadasi. On that occasion Italian sprinter Sacha Modolo triumphed.
“You can always look back – even when you win – and see things you can do differently,” Goss said Friday morning, when asked about the near-misses. “I’ll just take it day by day – it would be nice to win a stage here, but the goal is to get the leadout working well. That is the number one goal at the moment.
“The results are coming because of that, so hopefully they just keep rolling and hopefully we get the win before the week is out.” He is yet to clock up his first win of the season.
In the video below, Goss also talks about the strong start GreenEdge has had to its first season, as well as his goals for the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Also see: Robbie McEwen on retirement and his role as GreenEdge’s sprint coach