Joining the riders already announced for the aspiring UCI ProTeam, recent Tour of Denmark winner Simon Gerrans is the latest to be confirmed for the new squad.
The 31 year old rider is a strong acquisition for the Australian setup, being one of the few riders in the peloton to have taken wins in all three Grand Tours. He was third in this year’s Amstel Gold Race and landed his biggest stage race win thus far when he triumphed in Denmark just over a week ago.
Those performances made him a hot target of the team, and he sounds excited about the chance. “This might be a new team on paper but it has been 20-years in the making by people like Shayne Bannan,” he said. “I know the amount of preparation he does to get things right.”
Gerrans turned professional in 2005 with Ag2r la Mondiale and quickly showed his ability with wins in the Tour du Finistère, the GP Artigianato Carnaghese and the Herald Sun Tour. He took the Tour Down Under in his second year with the team, then left at the end of the third. He next competed with Crédit Agricole in 2008 and grabbed a Tour de France stage win.
A one year spell with the Cervélo Test Team earned him stage successes in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, and helped secure a two year season with Sky Procycling. Now he’s set to change again, becoming part of a big national project.
“In some ways joining GreenEdge has a coming-home feeling to it as many of the people involved, like Shayne and Gerry Ryan, have been a big part of my career for more than 10-years,” he said.
Bannan knows him a long time and has watched his performances. He likes what he sees. “Simon is now in the prime of his career with a proven ability to win on the big stage, which made him a target for us right from the start,” he stated.
“The other big plus with Simon is the example he’ll set for the rest of the team, particularly the younger guys.
“As an under-23 rider it was touch-and-go as to whether he’d make it as a professional cyclist. But where others would have raised the white flag Simon found a way and has become one of the most complete riders in the peloton.”
Gerrans is known for a punchy style and good strength in uphill finishes and on tough, undulating courses. The latter attribute earned him WorldTour victory in the GP Ouest France in 2009. Combining all those talents together appears to point him towards races such as the hillier spring Classics, and he also anticipates his career will head in that direction.
“I’ve always targeted the Ardennes Classics and after finishing third at the Amstel Gold Race this year I’m looking forward to preparing specifically for these races again with the backing of GreenEdge,” he said. “To win Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallone or Liege-Bastonge-Liege would be something special.
“I know everything would have to go absolutely right for me to be able to achieve that and I’m doing everything I can to give myself the best chance.”
He joins a number of previously-confirmed GreenEdge singings, including Jack Bobridge, Cameron and Travis Meyer, Stuart O’Grady, Pieter Weening, Sebastian Langeveld and Daniel Teklehaimanot. More announcements will follow in the days ahead.