Meyer gets Garmin gig

By Greg Johnson

Australia's Cameron Meyer is the latest neo-professional to be picked up by Jonathan Vaughters' Garmin-Chipotle squad. The West Australian youngster will join the American outfit in 2009 for the first of a two year contract.

"I am very excited about joining the professional ranks," said Meyer. "Garmin-Chipotle is one of the best teams in the world and I am very happy to be joining them. It was certainly a dream and goal of mine to become a professional rider and to have had it happen so quickly, I can't wait to begin."

Meyer has spent 2008 riding for the SouthAustralia.com-AIS squad while working towards his Olympic Games debut in Beijing, China where he claimed fourth place in the men's points race. The 20 year-old claimed victory at the Tour of Japan and also enjoyed success on the track with a victory in the points race at the Los Angeles Track World Cup round.

The rider's main priorities for early 2009 lay with track racing at the World Championships in Poland and at home with the Tour Down Under.

"For 2009 I will begin with the Australian Open Road Championships and then the Tour Down Under," he said. "These are two events which I would really love to perform well in. I will still have a track focus early in the season and I hope to represent Australia at the World Track Championships in Poland again, where I hope to take that extra step out of fourth place in the points race and be on the podium."

Cameron is the older of the Meyer brothers, with 19 year-old Travis also showing signs of a promising future in the sport. Travis claimed victory at the Tour of Berlin and Tour of Wellington this year while also riding for the SouthAustralia.com-AIS squad.