Meyer and Durbridge Selected for Giro d’Italia
With the 2014 Giro d’Italia set to launch this week, GreenEDGE racing has named its squad for this year’s first Grand Tour, with WAIS cyclists Cameron Meyer and Luke Durbridge both earning selection.
The Australian outfit will attack the three week tour with several objectives in mind: winning the opening stage team time trial, chasing stage wins and continuing its development of the team’s young riders. The nine riders to take to the race start in Belfast are: Brett Lancaster, Cameron Meyer, Ivan Santaromita, Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn, Michael Matthews, Mitch Docker, Pieter Weening and Svein Tuft.
“Our first objective in Italy is to win the team time trial,” said Sport Director Matt White. “It will be all hands on deck for the TTT in Ireland. We want to take the maglia rosa and of course hold onto it for as long as possible.”
Luke Durbridge is a time trial specialist who has proven he is more than capable of winning on the road as well. Twice Australian National Time Trial Champion and a former U23 World Time Trial Champion, Durbridge is the first Australian in the modern era to do the double at the Australian National Road Championships, winning both the individual time trial and the road race in the same year. Durbridge made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro last year where he rode a very respectable sixth in the stage eight individual time trial.
“Like Brett and Svein, Luke will be a key member of our squad for the TTT,” said White. “Luke produced a fantastic result in the ITT last year, and I really expect that the time trial on stage 12 will suit his characteristics.
Cameron Meyer’s strength against the clock has been repeatedly demonstrated in his short professional career to date. His first aim at his fourth Giro d’Italia start is the team time trial. Following the opening stage, he will focus on chasing stage wins.
“Cam can win a stage,” said White. “He is a very versatile rider who we are happy to see in the break on any given day. We have seen this aggressive style in the past with him and I expect to see the same rider that we saw at the Vuelta two years ago.
White is excited to be directing this talented team at the Giro d’Italia, which he believes is a good training ground for young riders. Of the three Grand Tours, White ranks the Giro as the most physically taxing.
“For me the Giro is a litmus test of a rider’s ability to get through a Grand Tour,” said White. “If a rider can get through the Giro physically, then he is ready for the more mentally challenging Tour de France.”
-GreenEDGE Racing