Brett Lancaster and Svein Tuft have both signed contracts for two more years with Orica-GreenEdge, the Australian WorldTour team has confirmed. Both riders have been with the squad since its inception in 2012, and both were part of the Tour de France team that won the stage four time trial in Nice.
“The choice was simple,” said Lancaster. “I wanted to stay on the team. I wasn’t really thinking about going anywhere else. The last two years have been very memorable. I’ve achieved some incredible things. I’m looking forward to another two years with GreenEdge.
“The Tour this year was pretty awesome,” said Lancaster. “Winning the team time trial and standing on the podium with all the boys was really special. The team’s owner, Gerry Ryan, and his son Andrew were there to witness it all. That was definitely the highlight – the highlight from two years with many, many memorable moments.”
“We’re very pleased to renew Brett’s contract,” echoed directeur sportif Matt White. “He played a part in some of our biggest rides and secured some nice results for himself. This past year, he won a stage in Slovenia, rode consistently throughout the entire Giro with our normal sprint group, won the team time trial at the Tour de France and was one of the strongest performers in our silver medal ride in the team time trial at the World Championships.”
Tuft (pictured), one of two Canadians on the Australian team, began 2013 with victory in the time trial stage of the Tour de San Luis, as an eight-time national champion against the clock. He also took the time trial stage of the Tour de Slovénie, before being a key rider in the Tour de France team time trial.
“It was a pretty easy decision for me to stay,” said Tuft. “This is team is a home for me and the riders and staff are my family. I knew after the first season that this was the place where I wanted to ride out my career.
“My first Tour was an amazing experience,” said Tuft. “The team time trial was one of my best days on the bike. Winning the way we did and in the environment that we did is something I’ll remember forever.
“The first week of the Tour was huge for us,” Tuft added. “After that, it seemed like I was hanging on for dear life. I crashed more in the last two weeks than I usually do in an entire season. It was a special just to make through a very tough race.”
“Svein was one of the first riders I brought across to GreenEdge,” said White. “He left Garmin when I did and spent a year with SpiderTech before coming back to the WorldTour. When we began to assemble the team in the summer of 2011, Svein was one of the first riders on my list. He works very hard in every situation. We always know what we’re getting with Svein.”