Meyer looking to defend time trial

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2010 national time trial champion Cameron Meyer is confident he can defend his jersey on Tuesday. The 40km course around Learmonth, east of Ballarat is predominantly flat after it was moved from the Buninyong circuit. Despite the change, Meyer believes he can win, but knows the circuit probably won't suit his characteristics.

"I would like to think I could win," Meyer said before he geared up for the national road race on Sunday. “It's a flatter course out at Learmonth. I had a look at the course and it's probably more suited to Adam Hansen, who is a big strong rider and goes well on the flats, and also Jack Bobridge, who is strong on the flat," said Meyer.

With Bobridge's impressive victory in the road race today, there is a strong chance the jersey can stay with Garmin-Cervelo again through 2011. However, Meyer knows it's going to be tough with up to eight riders capable of winning.

"At the end of the day, it's a 40km course. It's still January and the guy that has done the most preparation for it will win, and I think I have done enough training to give it a red hot shake."

Meyer spent a lot of time on the track at the end of the season, participating in the Commonwealth Games where he won multiple gold medals and also the first round of the track world cup, so his time on the time trial bike has been quite limited, but in the last month he has worked hard to prepare himself as much as he can for another tilt at the title.

"Last year I spent a lot more time on the time trial bike than I did this year," Meyer said. "I've had to really increase my distance in the last few weeks to get that endurance behind me and can put in a good performance."

"I've done some solid training and hopefully the legs are good by Tuesday."