He’s won the Tours of California and Oman plus the Grand Prix Montréal and Québec; now Robert Gesink will take on the Santos Tour Down Under in his first competitive event of 2014.
The Dutch climber is set to lead the Belkin Pro Cycling team in the race, which will begin in thirteen days time in Adelaide.
He will be joined by Australians Jack Bobridge, Graeme Brown and David Tanner, as well as Dutchmen Stef Clement, Rick Flens and Bram Tankink. Bobridge was second last year in the King of the Mountains competition.
According to race director Mike Turtur, Gesink is one who must be watched by the others.
“Robert Gesink had a solid season and capped it off with a win at the UCI WorldTour Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, where he stormed home to beat the likes of Rui Costa and Tom-Jelte Slagter,” he said.
“Graeme Brown is one of the most experienced Australian cyclists in the peloton and it is fantastic to see Adelaide boy Jack Bobridge going from strength to strength on the UCI WorldTour circuit.”
He predicted plenty of attacking from the team. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the team represented on a couple of podiums throughout the race.”
Meanwhile Italian sprinter Elia Viviani and Kiwi George Bennett will be two protected riders on the Cannondale Pro Cycling squad.
On past record, Viviani is likely to be one of the fastest riders in the race. As for Bennett, he is expected by Turtur to challenge for the overall.
“With Viviani to take care of the sprints and Bennett well suited to the challenging climbs of Corkscrew Road and Willunga Hill, we can expect to see the green jersey of Cannondale Pro Cycling at the front of the peloton,” he said.
“The seven-man roster includes cyclists of six different nationalities and Australia will be represented by former lightweight rower Cameron Wurf.
Also on the team will be Italy’s Alberto Bettiol, Canada’s Guillaume Boivin, the Austrian Matthias Krizek and the world under 23 champion Matej Mohoric of Slovenia.
The latter is another who will want to leave his mark, with his morale on a high after taking the rainbow jersey in September.
In other news, Adam Internet has been announced as the naming rights sponsor of the sprint jersey in the race.
The programme of racing begins with the People’s Choice Classic in Adelaide on January 19th. The WorldTour event then starts on January 21st with a 135 kilometre race from Nuriootpa to Angaston. Subsequent finishes will take place in Stirling, Campbelltown, Victor Harbor, Willunga Hill and Adelaide.
Latest team lineups confirmed for Santos Tour Down Under:
Belkin Pro Cycling:
Robert Gesink (Netherlands)
Jack Bobridge (Australia)
Stef Clement (Netherlands)
Graeme Brown (Australia)
Rick Flens (Netherlands)
David Tanner (Australia)
Bram Tankink (Netherlands)
Cannondale Pro Cycling:
George Bennett (New Zealand)
Alberto Bettiol (Italy)
Guillaume Boivin (Canada)
Matthias Krizek (Austria)
Matej Mohoric (Slovenia)
Elia Viviani (Italy)
Cameron Wurf (Australia)
Stage details:
Sunday 19 January: People’s Choice Classic, Adelaide (50km)
Monday 20 January: Rest day
Tuesday 21 January: Stage 1, Nuriootpa to Angaston (135km)
Wednesday 22 January: BikeExchange.com.au Stage 2, Prospect to Stirling (150km)
Thursday 23 January: Stage 3, Norwood to Campbelltown (145km)
Friday 24 January: Bupa Stage 4, Unley to Victor Harbor (148.5km)
Saturday 25 January: Stage 5, McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill (151.5km)
Sunday 26 January: Stage 6, Adelaide (95km)