The Coffee Ride #30 with Reece Homfray
AUSSIE cycling freshly brewed every Wednesday morning by Reece Homfray, exclusive to advertiser.com.au
AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU
TIME TRIAL TO PUT AN AUSSIE IN PINK
SET your alarm for 2am this Saturday morning because we’re a red-hot chance to see an Australian open the Giro d’Italia by claiming the pink jersey.
“Our first objective in Italy is to win the team time trial,” Orica-GreenEDGE boss Matt White said this week.
“It will be all hands on deck for the TTT in Ireland. We want to take the maglia rose and of course hold onto it for as long as possible.”
If an Australian cyclist crosses the line first in the winning squad in the teams time trial, it will be the first time a rider from Down Under will have worn the pink jersey since Cadel Evans and Richie Porte in 2010.
Evans is one of the leading candidates after his BMC Racing Team showed its strength with victory in the TTT at the Giro del Trentino last week.
There’s no question that BMC will be gunning for the stage victory so Evans does not concede time to his main rivals on general classification.
But will BMC orchestrate it in such a way that Evans is mid-pack when the team crosses the line so he is not ‘burdened’ with the pink jersey on day one and defending it from the start?
At last count there are nine Australians starting the Giro in Belfast this weekend. And with six of them at Orica-GreenEDGE, there’s a fair bet the pink jersey could be on one of their shoulders after stage one.
Orica-GreenEDGE has selected an outrageously strong team of time trillers and has made no secret that it is desperate to win the teams time trial and take the pink jersey on Saturday morning.
Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn and Cameron Meyer have all won Australian time trial national titles and Michael Matthews has finished on the podium.
Svein Tuft has won the Canadian time trial championship eight times and Brett Lancaster was part of the team which won the Tour de France TTT last year.
In its two-and-a-bit year history, the team has won team time trials at Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour de France and was second at last year’s world championships.
This is the team’s record in team time trials at Grand Tours:
Giro d’Italia:
2012: 6th
2013: 9th
Tour de France:
2012: No team time trial
2013: 1st
Vuelta a Espana:
2012: 10th
2013: 9th
The teams time trial in Belfast is a mostly flat 21.7km with time checks after 8km and 15km.
Orica-GreenEDGE is going into the season-opening Grand Tour with enormous momentum after one of the most successful weeks seen by any team for a long time.
Adam Yates’ victory in the Tour of Turkey made it six wins in eight days after Michael Albasini dominated the early stages of the Tour de Romandie.
The Giro d’Italia captured the attention of Australian sporting fans last year when Cadel Evans finished third.
It went up a level when it was announced that Evans would lock horns with Tasmanian Porte in this year’s race, but unfortunately illness to Porte means that battle this year won’t eventuate.
But there’s still plenty to look forward to and it all starts in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Live TV coverage of the Giro is on SBS and Europort.
MEARES READY TO STOKE UP THE BBQ
WHAT could be more Australian than firing up the weekend barbecue at Bunnings?
Having dual Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares serving up snags in bread with onion and sauce that’s what.
In between preparing for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July, Meares has been flat out in her quest to raise $250,000 for SA children’s charity Little Heroes Foundation.
Meares has been rattling tins, collecting sporting memorabilia for auction and on Sunday, May 18 will host a barbecue at Bunnings, Mile End, in Adelaide, as she raises as much money as possible ahead of her promise to shave her head after the Games.
As of the weekend, Meares’ fundraising tally stood at $26,434.
If you want to know what it’s all about, here’s a new video unveiled in The Coffee Ride which shows how something other than a gold medal is driving Meares in 2014.
SCENIC RACE ON GREAT OCEAN ROAD
LAST week we revealed Victoria’s plans to host a WorldTour one-day race straight after the Tour Down Under next January.
The exclusive report detailed that the Victorian Major Events Company had been in talks with the UCI about a race, a date and a spot on the WorldTour calendar.
If it goes ahead, the race will almost certainly be named after Tour de France champion Cadel Evans and will take in parts of the Great Ocean Road.
In an extended interview with Australian Michael Rogers this week, he was asked of his thoughts on the plan:
“I’d heard something about that but I don’t know any details,” Rogers said.
“Certainly we’ve seen massive change in the traditional calendar ... the sport has come a long way.
“And I kind of get the feeling we’re at a quite a big turning point in the sport where just the amount of interest is opening the floodgates to races outside of Europe.
“I haven’t been to Australia regularly for the last 10 years but the sport is growing at what seems to me at a fast rate and there are obviously a lot of opportunities being born out of that.”
Cycling Australia president Gerry Ryan confirmed talks were under way for the race to happen and he was keen for the event to incorporate a women’s event as well.
Watch this space.
MEYER BEGINS ROAD TO RECOVERY
FORMER Australian road cycling national champion Travis Meyer doesn’t remember the moment a car wiped him off the road in Spain last month but says regaining consciousness and later being flown to hospital was the most frightening of his life.
Meyer, 24, who rides for Australian team Drapac Professional Cycling was on a training ride in La Seu, near his European base in Andorra, when he was hit by a car.
“Then next minute (I remember) waking up with about 15 people around me,” he told News Limited.
“I knew something was serious as there was a lot of blood and I could feel my teeth up near the roof of my mouth.
“I wasn’t conscious the whole time. I got knocked out when the car hit me but after I awoke I remained conscious until surgery.
“Someone managed to call my wife, Genna, who was in Andorra at the time and she rushed to the hospital straight away.
“It was pretty scary as I couldn’t really remember much except when I woke up and saw a lot of blood and being rushed away.
“Then they wanted to airlift me to Barcelona so then I knew it wasn’t a normal situation. It was the most frightening experience I’ve had in my life that’s for sure.”
The Western Australian cyclist who spent four years with WorldTour teams Garmin-Sharp and Orica-GreenEDGE before joining Drapac this season was left with a broken jaw, a fracture near his ear, a broken arm and bruised lungs.
He required surgery for his jaw in which they inserted two plates to fix the break and also wired his mouth shut to help the healing process, and inserted a plate in his broken arm.
The 2010 national road champion has been on a liquid diet ever since the accident and has another week until the specialist loosens the bands in his mouth so he can better open his jaw.
“I believe it may be another two weeks before the wires come out completely and I won’t be able to eat proper solids for a while as I will need some good rehab following the removal of the wires to strengthen my jaw.”
Meyer said the accident was beyond his control and he prides himself on being very careful when riding on the roads. But still he says it is a reminder to all cyclists never to take any risks.
He said his wife, family and team had been hugely supportive and he was already getting edgy about returning to training and racing.
“My number one person that needs to thanked is my wife, Genna,” he said.
“She was amazing in the situation and never left my side all through hospital. She slept on a chair next to me for a week.
“The way she never panicked and dealt with everyone from doctors, nurses, insurance, everyone really, was incredible.
“My mum and mother in law flew over to help us too and that was such a big help and I couldn’t thank them enough.
“Drapac have been so supportive in my recovery and also a big help in the legal side of things too and I am very appreciative for that.”
ROGERS RARING TO GO FOR THE GIRO
AUSTRALIAN cyclist Michael Rogers says he never considered quitting the sport in the wake of his clenbuterol nightmare which finally ended with the UCI last month clearing him of any wrongdoing.
“No, I never thought that once,” he said.
“There were periods where it was mentally tough, there was the down periods when the news first came out, I was ready to take on King Kong.
“You’re fighting mentally and it takes its toll so there were days when I was up and down.”
Read more from the 34-year-old in his EXCLUSIVE interview with News Limited last week. But now, as he prepares to start the Giro d’Italia in Belfast on Friday he says Nairo Quintana is the man to beat.
“It’s going to be a good race and I hope the weather is on our side,” he said.
“In the mountains Quintana is going to be the man to beat.
“I’m really confident in one of our young guys — (Rafal) Majka, a Polish guy and I think he can be up there in the top five.
“It’s going to be a challenging race and the Giro always has a bunch of surprises in it.”
UK WELCOMES WOMEN’S TOUR
IT WILL be a significant moment in women’s professional road cycling today when the inaugural Friends Life Women’s Tour begins in the UK.
The race from May 7-11 has attracted significant media interest in Europe as it’s the only women’s UCI ranked (2.1) race on the UK calendar.
Among Australians on the start line vying for one of several jerseys up for grabs include Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products), Amy Cure (Lotto-Belisol Ladies), Shara Gillow, Annette Edmondson and Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) and Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized-Lululemon).
Stage 1 tonight (Australian time) is 98km from Oundle to Northampton.
The race features 11 of the top 13 ranked women’s teams in the world and race director Mick Bennett said the aim was to make it the “biggest and best” women’s tour on the planet within three years.
For live coverage of the race and to find out who wins each stage this week, visit womenstour.co.uk
WOMEN’S CYCLING LIVE ON EUROSPORT
THE announcement that elite women’s cycling will feature on the final stage of this year’s Tour de France in Paris was met with widespread joy from the female peloton.
Tour organisers confirmed that “La Course by Le Tour de France” would be held just hours before the men’s yellow jersey rides onto the Champs Elysees and would be shown live around the world on Europort.
The 90km stage will incorporate a 13-lap circuit which is expected to culminate in a sprint finish on Sunday, July 27.
Women’s cycling superstar Marion Vos described last week’s announcement as an “historic day”.
“I’m delighted to see ASO understands the importance of promoting women’s cycling and throw its weight behind it,” Vos said.
“We needed a stage and they’ve given it to us. We’ve now got the chance to make our dream come true.”
The winner will receive $33,639 in prizemoney — the same amount awarded to stage winners of the men’s Tour de France.
GARFOOT FIRES IN EUROPE
REIGNING women’s National Road Series champion Katrin Garfoot is getting the job done in Europe with second place overall in the Gracia Orlova Tour in the Czech Republic this week.
Garfoot went top five on all four days of racing for the Jayco-AIS team and narrowly missed victory on an uphill finish on the final stage.
“The whole team worked really well together this week,” Garfoot said.
“We fought for every second to try and get ahead in the tight GC. The tour was well planned and I felt safe and well protected by my teammates throughout the race.
“It was a tough race — the climbs on stage two were surprisingly long and it made the tough conditions even harder.”
Director Gary Sutton praised Garfoot’s performance and also that of current national time trial champion Felicity Wardlaw who joined the Jayco-AIS team after starting this season with Bicycle Superstore in the NRS.
“Felicity Wardlaw did an enormous amount of work and along with Emily Roper they were both absolutely awesome on the road,” Sutton said.
“We had excellent leadership from Loren Rowney too ... her communication and leadership skills were exemplary.
“The girls communicated well and gave Katrin every opportunity of winning the bike race.”
QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...
“He’s got a better sprint on him than me, and he’s also better on longer climbs, otherwise we’re pretty similar.”
- Orica-GreenEDGE’s Adam Yates talks to SBS website CyclingCentral about comparisons with his brother Simon after he won the Tour of Turkey.
“He showed that when he had a jersey, it was hard to take him. Repeated efforts over three weeks can pose a problem, but he is only very young. I have a lot of respect for him.”
- Chris Froome tells L’Equipe he believes Polish sensation Michal Kwiatkowski is capable of finishing top five at this year’s Tour de France.
“I’ve competed in this race every year since I turned professional. It’s a race I’ve always dreamt of winning, and I think because it’s something I’ve really worked for, it’s a fantastic feeling.”
- Simon Germans after becoming the first Australian to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege last weekend.
“It would be great for the sport and would add to the Tour Down Under, which is a fantastic event ... The more people see of that level (WorldTour) in Australia, the better.”
- Cycling Australia president Gerry Ryan on plans for a WorldTour one-day race in Victoria in January, 2015.
“Having a lieutenant like Samuel is far more than I could have hoped for.”
- Cadel Evans on BMC’s team for the Giro d’Italia which includes 2008 Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez.
TWEET, TWEET
“2nd is the new 1st. Takes skill to come 2nd 3 times in the last 3 TT’s.”
- Rohan Dennis after he finished ... you guessed it, second in the ITT at Tour of Romandie last week which was a sign of his ultra consistent form.
Originally published as The Coffee Ride #30 with Reece Homfray
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