Simon Gerrans launches European campaign in GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano

HE broke six bones in seven different crashes in 2015 but Simon Gerrans will launch his European campaign as a rejuvenated force after clawing back the No.1 ranking.

24/01/16 - Orica GreenEDGE rider Simon Gerrans celebrates after winning the 2016 Tour Down Under in Adelaide for a fouth time. Photo Tom Huntley

SIMON Gerrans will launch his European campaign on Sunday as a rejuvenated force.

Gerrans goes into Italy’s one-day GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano as the world’s No.1 ranked rider after a Tour Down Under blitz banished memories of a hellish 2015.

One of Australia’s most decorated cyclists broke six bones in seven different crashes last year, but had his faith restored by an Australian summer that’s silenced the doubters.

“It was a thrill to have the success I had in January but it was also a bit of a relief,” Gerrans told the Herald Sun from his Andorra base.

“After going through such a dry spell of results in 2015 due to all the setbacks I had, it just confirmed to me and probably a few guys in the team that I am still capable of winning on the big stage.

“It hopefully put a line through all that bad luck and allowed me to start 2016 fresh and ready to go.”

Gerrans’ decision to overlook Saturday’s more prestigious Strade Bianche came after he deemed Tuscany’s iconic dirt road race not worth the risk.

It was in last year’s edition of the race, which takes riders on more than 50km of gravel roads, that the Victorian star broke his elbow.

“It is a race with a little bit more risk than we normally do. As far as a preparation race goes there’s probably no need to do that,” he said.

A disappointed Gerrans after being forced to withdraw of a stage in last year’s TDF. Photo Sarah Reed.

“Obviously that (broken elbow) played in the back of my mind a bit and, to be honest with you, the team didn’t even put it to me. They just said: ‘It’s better off you doing these other couple’.”

Gerrans will instead ease into the European season at GP di Larciano and use the upcoming Volta Catalunya and Tour of the Basque Country as the building blocks for his major goals — Ardennes glory in April at Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

“There’s no need to do a heck of a lot of racing just yet because I really don’t want to do anything that’s going to bring on my form quicker than I need it,” he said.

“The reality is you can really only hold top form for so long. You’ve really got to time it right for when you do come into condition. Larciano is going to be a good little hitout just to keep that race rhythm.

“I’ve won Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the past and I’d love to go back there and have a clean shot at that and try to win it again.

“Amstel Gold Race is the week before and I think I’ve got the most amount of third places there on record. If I could win one of those it would be a big thing.

“I’ve got a good foundation. Now, over the next couple of months, it’s about sharpening up again.”