He recently clocked up his first WorldTour level win when he took stage two of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, and now Daryl Impey is aiming to move a step further by riding his first-ever Grand Tour and being part of a successful stage–winning campaign with his Orica GreenEdge team.
The 27 year old has described himself as ‘extremely excited’ to make his Grand Tour debut, both for the experience itself and also because he believes that it will elevate him to a higher level as an athlete.
“The three week stage race is definitely going to test me. Also once I finish the race, I will be a different rider,” he wrote in his online blog. “They say that a Grand Tour changes your body and your perception afterwards, and is a big stepping stone in a rider's career.”
The GreenEdge team will enter the race gunning to perform well. It recently signed a three year deal with explosives company Orica, giving it the financial backing it needs to guarantee its future. It is also very motivated as the result of a strong start to its debut season.
The men’s squad has won nine UCI ranked races plus two national championships, and will prioritize taking its first Grand Tour stage victory.
Impey said that the team’s primary strategy to do so will be to back its sprinter Matt Goss in the race. However there’ll be other options, including the group race against the clock in Verona on day four.
“My goals are obviously to try win the team's time trial and focus on one or two stages where a mass sprint is not expected, or even look for options in the breakaways,” he said.
“Our first priority is to help Matt Goss and do what’s best for GreenEdge.”
Impey and Goss will be joined on the Orica GreenEdge squad by Brett Lancaster, Jack Bobridge, Jens Keukeleure, Tomas Vaitkus, Svein Tuft, Christian Meier and Fummy Beppu.
The Giro d’Italia begins with an 8.7 kilometre prologue on Saturday.