Perth Set for National Road Series

Elevated to continental status in 2015, Perth’s Navitas Satalyst Racing Team is determined to open their Subaru National Road Series season with a bang on home soil.

The 11 round men’s series begins with the Woodside Tour de Perth on March 26 – 29 and touches the areas of Fremantle, Kalamunda, Perry Lakes and Perth City.

Spearheading the team will be former Australian representative and Orica-GreenEDGE rider Wesley Sulzberger (TAS) alongside an all Western Australian cast of Ben O’Connor, Jackson Mawby, Theo Yates, Tim Sellar, under 19 Oceania road race bronze medallist, Darcy Pirotta (WAIS) and Sam Welsford (WAIS).

“We have a young team but I think we could produce some really good results, and to have Wes Sulzberger racing with us will be great,” said Welsford, a multiple track Oceania and world champion.

“I think Wes will bring a lot of leadership and mentoring for us younger riders to the team. With Wes having raced as a professional for so many years, he’ll be able to give us advice and position us well coming into finishes.”

Now in its third year, victory in the four staged event was previously decided upon Rottnest Island with a 20 kilometre time trial awarded to Joe Cooper (Avanti Racing) two years in a row.

However 2015 will see a dramatic format change with the race moving away from Rottnest Island in replace for a short 1.5 kilometre prologue in Fremantle.

“The prologue will be interesting and I think it will be very close between whoever takes it out.

“I know the roads pretty well so hopefully that plays in my favour. The hilly road stage to Kalamunda will be the decisive stage and knowing where the crucial parts of the course will come into play will be a big advantage,” said Welsford.

In 2015, the 2015 Subaru National Road Series will be broadcast on both the Nine Network and Fox Sports.

Each event on the calendar will have a 30minute highlights program aired at noon, the Sunday after the race.

Highlights from the Woodside Tour de Perth will be broadcast on the Nine Network’s GEM channel on Sunday, April 5 at 11.00am AWST.

In other cycling news:

WAIS scholarship holder Robert Power has been named on Cycling Australia’s 2015 Jayco-AIS World Tour Academy.

The 2015 Jayco-AIS World Tour Academy Team provides a pathway for Australia’s most talented under-23 riders into the World Championship, Olympic and Commonwealth Games and professional ranks.

In 2015, the team sees six returning members including the trio of Robert Power, Jack Haig (VIC) and Alexander Edmondson (SA) who are poised to begin their World Tour careers with Australia’s Orica-GreenEDGE from 2016.

Power, who staged an incredible hat-trick of victories in Italy in 2014 and Haig, who joined the squad mid-way through the 2014 season, will team up with Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race best young rider Alex Clements (SA), Harry Carpenter (SA)and team pursuit world championship bronze medallist Miles Scotson (SA) who will represent the track endurance element alongside Edmondson.

-CyclingAus