Cameron Meyer to return to European racing at the end of March
Debut race likely to be Coppi e Bartali while key targets are the Olympics and Giro d’Italia
Cameron Meyer (Team BikeExchange) will be staying on in Australia a little longer than most of his teammates as the Australian road champion works towards his goal of finishing his track career with an Olympic medal.
Most of Meyer’s teammates at the Australian summer races are already on their way to Europe, after helping the 33-year-old rider secure back-to-back titles at the elite men’s road race at the Australian Road Championships on Sunday, but Meyer is still more than a month away from starting his European road season.
“I fly to Europe in March. I still have some National Team track commitments to attend here in Australia so I’m heading over a little later than the others. My first race to debut the jersey will likely be at the end of March, possibly Coppi Bartali in Italy,” said Meyer.
The nine-time world champion on the track and winner of the national title across all three road disciplines, returned to the track in 2017 after spending a number of years focussed on the road. This year he has big targets across both.
“My two big season goals this year will be the Giro d’Italia and Tokyo Olympics if all goes to plan. I really hope to be a part of a winning team at the Giro and then to finish my track career with an Olympic medal would be very special.”
Meyer will be returning to Europe from the heat of the Australian summer and an environment where low COVID-19 case numbers mean cycling events are still running with crowds watching on the sidelines. The international racing in Australia, however, was disrupted due to the difficulty of international travel with the WorldTour events of the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race cancelled.
“Is certainly has not been easy with professional sport during this pandemic. I learnt last year to take each day as it comes and not to plan so far in the future,” said Meyer. “Things change very quickly at the moment and it can really be hard mentally to see events cancelled. I will work to enjoy being healthy and riding my bike whilst making small goals each week.”
Another price of the pandemic was that Meyer, who in 2020 finally overcame years of near misses to secure the Australian road race title for the first time, didn’t get to enjoy wearing the green and gold jersey of the national champion last year as much as he had hoped. Not only did the pandemic disrupt the race calendar but positive COVID-19 tests also led to the squad withdrawing from the Giro d’Italia.
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“I can’t wait to return to Europe and hopefully to the Giro and finish the three-week event this year. Every Grand Tour is special and to ride-in on the 21st stage with the green and gold on my back would be a dream come true. If as a team, we have the pink jersey then that would be even better,” said Meyer.
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