Meyer Handed Tour de Romandie Start

WAIS cyclist Cameron Meyer has been selected in the ORICA-GreenEDGE eight man roster for the Tour de Romandie set in the beautiful French-speaking region of the Swiss countryside.

GreenEDGE has selected a competitive squad that will be looking for stage wins in preparation ahead of the season’s first grand tour (Giro d’Italia) that follows soon after.

The six day WorldTour race serves a dual purpose for the peloton: it provides a barometer of fitness for the Tour de France overall contenders and serves as final preparation for the men with ambitions at the Giro d’Italia.

In the previous three editions of the Tour de Romandie, the overall victor has gone on to win the Tour in July. For those eyeing yellow as the peloton rolls into Paris, the timing of Romandie fits perfectly into the schedule. They can perform at a high level and then rest and read just before the final push to France. Riders racing the Giro must strike a delicate balance between their need for a last hit-out ahead of the first Grand Tour and their need to keep something in the tank ahead of a three consecutive weeks of racing.

“It’s too intense of a race right before the Giro,” explained Sport Director Neil Stephens. “If the overall contenders go too hard here, they’ll flop in Italy. Romandie is really demanding as it’s set in some beautiful mountains, and it is raced really hard.”

Stephens also confirmed that Meyer – following top ten general classification results last year at Tour of Turkey, Amgen Tour of California and Tour de Suisse – would lead the team’s general classification targets over the six day Tour de Romandie.

“We’re looking forward to continuing our support of Cam Meyer in pursuit of his overall ambitions,” said Stephens. “This is an important test for him here in Romandie. We would also love to see a decent result in the prologue, especially from Heppy [Michael Hepburn]. If we can hit those two targets and make our mark on at least one other stage, that’s enough for me.”

-OGE