Cyclist Simon Gerrans chasing third Tour Down Under title

SIMON Gerrans out to become first three-time winner of the Tour Down Under when he contests the January 19-26 race.

Simon Gerrans of Australia and Team Orica-Greenedge.

SIMON Gerrans will try to become the first three-time winner of the Tour Down Under when he rides in a powerful Orica-GreenEDGE team selected for the January 19-26 race.

Gerrans, who won the race in 2006 and 2012, is returning from the fractured hip he suffered during the Tour of Spain which ended his standout 2013 season.

The 33-year-old Victorian will be looking for another big win to kickstart his season.

He won a Tour Down Under stage last year before going on to win the third stage of the Tour de France and also wear the yellow jersey after Orica-GreenEDGE's victory in the stage four team time trial.

South African Daryl Impey is the only non-Australian rider in the seven-man Orica-GreenEDGE team named yesterday for the Tour Down Under in South Australia.

Gerrans and Impey are joined by Simon Clarke, Matt Goss, Mathew Hayman, Michael Matthews and Luke Durbridge.

"As an Australian team, this is an important race for us," Orica-GreenEDGE sport director Matt White said.

"We have quite a strong team, and everyone is really motivated to bring home some good results in front of our Australian fans. We're targeting stage wins and focused on the overall. We have a number of options to achieve our goals."