Simon Gerrans gunning for fourth Tour Down Under title after missing last year’s race through injury

THREE-time Tour Down Under champion Simon Gerrans is thrilled to be back in Adelaide but even happier to be in one piece after a horror injury last year.

Simon Gerrans

THREE-time Tour Down Under champion Simon Gerrans is thrilled to be back in Adelaide but even happier to be in one piece.

This time last year he missed the race as defending champion after breaking his collarbone while riding his mountain bike.

It was the start of a frustrating year for the 35-year-old who endured a series of crashes and injuries.

But Australian cycling’s elder statesman is back — hungry, fit, determined and most importantly, healthy.

“There’s a lot of anticipation, first big race of the season and it’s always exciting to get back here to Adelaide and the event seems to grow every year,” Gerrans said this week.

“It’s a WorldTour event, there’s a world class peloton here so everyone wants to make an impact on that first race of the season.

“I was so disappointed not to be here last year, I would have loved to come back as defending champion.

“So I’m really happy to be back here but I’m actually really happy to be back in one piece for a change.”

The Victorian — who was introduced to the sport by the legendary Phil Anderson as a way of recovering from a knee injury he suffered as a motocross rider — sits alongside Cadel Evans as the greatest cyclists Australia has ever produced.

At the start of every season, the Orica-GreenEDGE star puts a red circle around four races on the calendar and it always starts with the TDU which he has won in 2006, 2012 and 2014 — the only three-time winner.

Then it’s the Spring Classics in Europe where he’s won Milan-San Remo in 2012 and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2014.

Then the Tour de France where he’s won three stages and wore the yellow jersey in 2013.

Finally it’s either the world championships or Olympics where this year he will be among the contenders going to Rio.

“I put a lot of significance on Tour Down Under, I mark it as one of my big objectives for the year and I only have three or four of those,” Gerrans said.

“It’s right up there for me alongside the Spring Classics and the Tour de France.

“It’s a huge honour to have already won the race three times. To win a fourth, geez I don’t know, but regardless of what I’ve done in the past it’s a blank canvas when you come here and everyone is on par.

“I really feel the level of this race and calibre every year, guys seem to be in better condition when they come to the race.

“You have a look around and from what I understand it’s been a pretty warm winter in Europe, so the Europeans would have had a good preparation.

“And obviously a lot of the Aussies are in cracking form as well, so it’s getting harder and harder to win.”

The biggest advantage Gerrans brings into the season-opening WorldTour race in Adelaide is he knows exactly what is required to win.

He won by seven seconds in 2006, by countback in 2012 when he finished on equal time with Alejandro Valverde and by just one second in 2014 when he beat Cadel Evans.

“The experience of coming back here year in, year out ... the greatest asset I have is I’ve prepared well for this event so many times,” Gerrans said.

“To have the preparation to bring myself up to win it a few times is definitely a big advantage.

“Training has been going well, I’ve had a pretty smooth run up to the race this year and I feel I’ve done everything I can.

“Being an Australian team and an Australian there’s not too many opportunities you get to race with a home town advantage.

“As Orica-GreenEDGE we’re all super-excited about being here and want to make an impact on the race.”

Despite his age and the fact that BMC’s Rohan Dennis and Richie Porte are snapping at his heels, Gerrans has no qualms about being talked about as the man to beat this week.

“There’s obviously a lot of pressure coming into the race, a big build up for the team and in the media (and) to be marked as a favourite it’s pretty special, but once you’re out on the road and everyone is going pedal stroke for pedal stroke those expectations are well and truly forgotten.”

The only thing he’s disappointed about ahead of Stage 1 from Prospect to Lyndoch on Tuesday is the weather forecast for Adelaide which is predicting relatively mild temperatures compared to previous summers.

“That’s a real shame, I was hoping for a scorching hot week,” Gerrans said.

“As Australians we’ve had a couple of months here so if anyone is used to the heat we are, I was hoping for 40-plus degrees every day. It might not be so pleasant for the spectators and the Europeans but it would have definitely been an advantage for us.”

[e-mail]

Originally published as Simon Gerrans gunning for fourth Tour Down Under title after missing last year’s race through injury