ORICA-GreenEDGE believes team leader Esteban Chaves can contend on grand tours
ORICA-GreenEDGE will aim for overall honours at grand tour level for the first time this week when it tackles the Giro d’Italia with Colombian Esteban Chaves as team leader.
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ORICA-GreenEDGE will aim for overall honours at grand tour level for the first time this week when it tackles the Giro d’Italia with Colombian Esteban Chaves as team leader.
Renowned for plucking team time-trial and sprint-stage glory rather than vying for general classification spoils, Orica believes Chaves, 26, has the credentials to “seriously challenge”.
Fifth overall in last year’s Tour of Spain, Chaves is tasked with matching favourites Italian Vincenzo Nibali, Spain’s Alejandro Valverde and Colombian Rigoberto Uran.
“This is the first time in the team’s history that we have a team assembled around a rider who has the genuine credentials to compete for the general classification,” OGE director Matt White said.
“Esteban’s performance in last year’s Vuelta a Espana has given the team another string to its bow and supporting him will be our big focus for the race.
“This is new territory for us.
“We have enjoyed success at the Giro d’Italia in recent years with stage results and consecutive days in the leader’s jersey in 2014 and 2015, but we have never realistically gone into the race looking to challenge for the overall.
“Esteban is super motivated and he has prepared very well for the race.
“We are confident we can provide real support for Esteban. We have a well-balanced team around him and the experience of our Spanish riders Ruben (Plaza) and Amets (Txurruka) will be important on the mountain stages.”
OGE will chase sprint stages with NSW powerhouse Caleb Ewan.
“Caleb is really fast,” White said. “We are well aware of that and it’s going to be an exciting prospect for the team to see him make the step up in this kind of race.
“He has made a great improvement over the last 12 months. I’m looking forward to seeing how he will perform against the big guns of the sprinting world.
“There is going to be some strong competition there, but we will be aiming to support Caleb on the stages that have the possibility of ending in a sprint finish.”
Slovenian Luka Mezgec and Queenslander Michael Hepburn will combine with Kiwi Sam Bewley and Canadian veteran Svein Tuft to launch Ewan’s finishing bursts.
The 99th Giro starts in Apeldoorn, Holland, on Friday before transferring to Italy on Tuesday, eventually finishing in Turin on May 29.
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