The Mersey Valley Tour marks the start of the Australian National Road Series and pundits will be anticipating an action packed race. The tour opens on Friday with a 24 km time trial on a reasonably flat but slightly undulating course. Day two will split the men from the boys as the riders tackle no less than three major climbs with the final 8.5 km uphill at an average gradient of 8 percent. Sunday will end the tour as some tired legs face up to three 40 km circuits on a hilly parcour.
-
No longer under the radar, Michael Storer is the Giro d'Italia contender you need to know about
'Watch out for Michael Storer' says teammate as strong Tour of the Alps stage victory confirms Australian's status as Giro GC threat -
Pre-race favourite Antonio Tiberi out of Tour of the Alps with sickness
Italian abandons key Giro d'Italia build-up race as crash also forces Salvatore Puccio out of race -
Super agents - How pro cycling's rich and powerful are growing ever more influential
A lot of contracts and futures are controlled in the hands of a small number of people in this new era of professional cycling -
'The Loch Ness Monster of cycling' – New details of the One Cycling project revealed by Belgian press
Het Laatste Nieuws reveals men's teams expected to receive €1 million a season, women's teams €500,000, with four new races
