While things may not have gone quite as well for team Sky in this year’s Tour Down Under as they may have hoped, the team still boasts two stage podiums [Down Under Classic and stage 3], and a rider in Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen well placed in the overall standings.
It says a lot about the team’s pedigree, with Michael Rogers, Chris Sutton, Geraint Thomas, along with "Eddy" creating a formidable squad. For whatever reason things haven’t quite clicked for the team, but Sutton is confident that a win is not far away – if not a shot at the GC.
"We’ve got a really versatile team here,” said Sutton, “which gives us a lot of options, each and every rider here for us is incredibly strong.
"I had a crack in the classic on Sunday but got bumped out of position, and never got back on to Edvald’s wheel.
"Then on the stage to Clare, I got caught behind the crash in the last kilometre. I had to get across the gap to Geraint’s wheel. I made it across but I think I panicked a little bit and went a little too early. I was a bit annoyed at myself, but that’s those early season nerves."
To make the series of close-calls that much more frustrating, the team’s designated sprinter for today’s stage to Victor Harbor, Edvald Boasson Hagen rode the final kilometre on a deflating tyre. In the circumstances his third place was impressive - Sutton however dispelled suggestions that the team was suffering from a barren run of ‘luck’.
"No, no - I don’t believe in luck, you create your own opportunities. We just need to keep trying, we’re not far away."
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Alex Hinds is a graduate of Economics and Political Science from Sydney University. Growing up in the metropolitan area of the city he quickly became a bike junkie, dabbling in mountain and road riding. Alex raced on the road in his late teens, but with the time demands of work and university proving too much, decided not to further pursue full-time riding.
If he was going to be involved in cycling in another way the media seemed the next best bet and jumped at the opportunity to work in the Sydney office of Cyclingnews when an offer arose in early 2011.
Though the WorldTour is of course a huge point of focus throughout the year, Alex also takes a keen interest in the domestic racing scene with a view to helping foster the careers of the next generation of cycling.
When not writing for Cyclingnews Alex is a strong proponent of the awareness of cyclists on the road in Sydney having had a few close run-ins with city traffic in the past.
