Rohan Dennis can double up but watch out for Simon Gerrans, says Phil Liggett

LEGENDARY cycling commentator Phil Liggett believes Rohan Dennis is perfectly placed to defend his Tour Down Under crown but will have to fight off a hungry Simon Gerrans to go back-to-back.

Tour down Under - The Voice of cycling, Phil Liggett at The Collins Bar at The Hilton with the Tour Down Under cocktail. Previewing the race. Photo Sarah Reed.

LEGENDARY cycling commentator Phil Liggett believes Rohan Dennis is perfectly placed to defend his Tour Down Under crown but will have to fight off a hungry Simon Gerrans to go back-to-back.

Liggett arrived in Adelaide on Thursday to also declare young gun Caleb Ewan the favourite for the People’s Choice Classic on Sunday evening.

“Mark Cavendish is going to have his hands full with Caleb this year,” Liggett said.

“Caleb in his first full year as a professional beat Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb in a stage of the Tour of Spain which is a huge feather in his cap.

“He’s a very unassuming young man, does his job, goes away and is just a nice person. On the bike he’s a typical sprinter who can tear them apart.

“I would expect him to win the People’s Choice Classic and get to the front of a few stages.”

Liggett believes the fight for overall honours will feature BMC’s Dennis and new teammate Richie Porte, as well as Gerrans, who is backed by a strong Orica-GreenEDGE team.

“He’s (Dennis) got a great chance of defending here, there’s no reason why he couldn’t,” Liggett said.

“I think Richie is looking quite sharp and he’d be prepared to help Dennis win the race.

“The course suits him (Dennis) — he might struggle a little bit up Corkscrew Hill, but he’s shown us he can ride Willunga so that’s not a problem.

“But with Corkscrew remember what Cadel Evans did a couple of years ago — he got away and stayed to the finish, and I think (there are) incredibly strong guys who will do the same this time.

“We know Orica have got the team that can do it and Simon (Gerrans) will always wait for the moment on Willunga Hill, as long as he’s not lost time.”

Liggett, who will form part of the race commentary during the week, headed straight for The Collins Bar at The Hilton on Thursday to help promote a new Tour Down Under inspired cocktail.

He said while next week’s TDU might not have as many big international names as previous years, it would take nothing away from the race itself.

“We don’t have standout names this year as such, (but) in my experience when you don’t have obvious winners you have a fantastic bike race and that’s what we want to see,” he said.

Liggett watched Dennis win last year’s race on home soil and then go on to set the world hour record, which was later beaten by Bradley Wiggins.

“It all began here and he went on to have a terrific Tour de France — the fastest average speed in a time trial — and he got the world hour record,” Liggett said of the Adelaide 25-year-old.

“And he told me give it five more years of stamina in his legs and he’ll attack Bradley Wiggins’ record.”

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Originally published as Rohan Dennis can double up but watch out for Simon Gerrans, says Phil Liggett