After competing in the Tour of Beijing, several of the same Garmin-Cervélo squad will travel onwards to Australia to ride the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. National road race champion Jack Bobridge has made it clear that he hopes to be in the results, saying that his title means that he has extra incentive to perform well.
“The Jayco Herald Sun Tour will be my first race in Australia since the Tour Down Under in the national jersey, so I would like to go well there,” he stated.
“I will see how I go in the Tour of Beijing (this week), then see what comes in the early part of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and see if I can get a stage win. For me by then it’s the harder, the better, I guess. I know the weather, especially the winds at this time of the year, can affect the race, so let’s see.
“And I am not forgetting that we have a strong team.”
Bobridge will be joined by five other Australians. These include Cameron Meyer, who won the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia last January, as well as his brother Travis Meyer, former Tour de France and Vuelta stage winner Heinrich Haussler, Brett Lancaster and, all going to plan, Matt Wilson.
The latter won the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in 2007 but has a question mark over his participation right now due to injury. He crashed in training today in Beijing and is reported to have broken his finger, ruling him out of the Chinese WorldTour race. His participation in the Australian race depends on his treatment and recovery.
Prior to the accident, he spoke about looking forward to the race. “I grew up 15km from Arthur’s Seat and its going to be exciting having the Tour there,” he said. “With the riders we’ve got and the local knowledge, I am sure that we can be very competitive.
“Young Jack’s going pretty good and Heinrich’s in good shape too. We’ve got a really good team - riders coming of the worlds, the Vuelta and then here in Beijing.”
He said that a strong lineup was important as the quality of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour will be a particularly impressive one this season.
Of the other riders on the team, Bobridge, Cameron Meyer and Haussler will all have ridden in Beijing prior to lining out in the Australian event. This should hone their form prior to competing in Australia.
Meyer showed superb form in the first WorldTour race of the season when he grabbed that victory in the Santos Tour Down Under. More recently, he has been a bit quieter in terms of results, but he has a chance to end things on a high note with Garmin-Cervélo if he comes out of Beijing with good form.
Like four out of the other five riders – Haussler being the exception – he will move to GreenEdge next year.
“It’s not going to be easy because there are lots of top riders,” he said, speaking of his chances of taking a rare double triumph in both races. “I see SaxoBank are sending a good team. But we are going to be a very motivated team – six Australians together looking to finish the season on a high.
“I am conscious of the open areas on the early days of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and it will be hard to keep the peloton together. I am looking to stage four as my best chance. The ride up Arthur’s Seat looks pretty interesting. But anything could happen before we get to Arthur’s Seat.”
He played down his chances in the Tour of Beijing, saying that he didn’t consider himself to be in very strong form at this point of the year. However he recognises that the Chinese event should sharpen things up prior to that fourth stage.
“With five days of riding in Beijing and another three at the beginning of the tour, I will have a good chance to gain some race fitness before then,” he explained.
The Garmin-Cervélo team joins previously-confirmed Saxo Bank SunGard and the Omega Pharma Lotto squad, being the third WorldTour team to be revealed. Australian riders Richie Porte and Adam Hansen will lead each of those teams, while Marcel Kittel will front the Skil-Shimano squad, now renamed 1t4i in advance of a big new sponsor unveiling next year.