National champion not convinced race will be decided on Willunga
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Simon Gerrans from Victoria was a popular winner of the gold medal in the men's elite road race.(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)
Simon Gerrans sported his Australian jersey for the first time.(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Simon Gerrans tries to sneak away from the lead group on the climb up Mt.Buninyong.(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)
Australian road champion Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) is one of the pre-race favourites for the 14th Santos Tour Down Under, and told Cyclingnews that arriving in Adelaide, in an Australian team, wearing the national colours was a proud moment.
"It’s an exciting time for myself and for Australian cycling," said Gerrans. "Everyone is really wrapped with this team and what we’ve done so far, now we just have to continue to build on that."
Gerrans has showed already that he's arriving at the Tour Down Under in top form. At the national championships in Buninyong he was a level above on the hilly 163.2 kilometre course, sprinting away from Matthew Lloyd (Lampre-ISD) and Richie Porte (Sky) to take the title. The Australian said that though serious questions would have been asked had the team failed to fire, things had worked out to the tee.
"There was a lot of pressure on GreenEdge leading into the national championships," said Gerrans. "But everyone in the team really knew their role. I was always going to wait for the last few laps, if the race was still together. In the end it was great that I was able to finish it all off the way I did."
Tour Down Under
Leading into the Tour Down Under much has been made of the course change on stage five's Old Willunga Hill, which for the first time will include a hill-top finish. Interestingly, Gerrans played down the significance of the stage, citing stages 2 and 4 respectively as potentially more decisive, and pointed to the race's penchant for surprise winners as something always to watch out for.
"I really don’t think it’s going to be decided on Willunga," said Gerrans. "I think there’ll likely be small group come to the finish there so it’s going to come down to time bonuses – and that'll mean everyday will be really important."
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"I also wouldn't be surprised to see a break or two get away. That hasn't been the case in the more recent years of the race, but I think there is definetely more opportunity for that this year."
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.
