Emma Johansson won her fifth Swedish National Time Trial Championships in Åstorp. The defending champion bested Lisa Nordén and Malin Rydlund on the 27.9 kilometre course.
ORICA-GreenEDGE has named its nine man Tour de France squad. The line-up includes six riders who raced the Australian outfit’s inaugural Grand Boucle alongside three riders making their Tour de France debut.
Shara Gillow soloed to victory in Sarnonico. The Australian National Time Trial Champion attacked her escape group inside the final two of six circuit laps on the second stage of Giro del Trentino Donne. Her former breakmates were overtaken by the peloton ahead of the finish, and Emma Johansson won the bunch sprint for second place.
Brett Lancaster has had plenty of practice celebrating his role in teammates’ wins. A loyal domestique and experienced lead out man, Lancaster has become accustomed to sacrificing himself to put a teammate on the top step. Given the opportunity for a personal result on the final stage of the Tour de Slovénie, Lancaster seized it.
When he set season goals with his coach ahead of his second year with ORICA-GreenEDGE, Cameron Meyer identified a top ten in the Tour de Suisse as a main objective. After nine days of difficult racing in Switzerland, Meyer achieved that goal. The Western Australian closed out the tour in tenth overall, 3’44 behind race winner Rui Costa (Movistar).
Michael Albasini narrowly finished off the Tour de Suisse stage eight podium. Fourth from a group of 34 that formed over the category three ascent ten kilometres from the finish, Albasini was unaware that team leader Cameron Meyer had missed the selection after suffering a puncture ahead of the climb.
It was a rough start for ORICA-AIS to the double day of racing at Giro del Trentino Alto Adige. Sport Director Dave McPartland had masterminded a technically sound plan for the morning time trial in the hopes of achieving a top result to well-position his team for the overall victory. The morning did not go according to plan, and the team was forced to change tactics on the fly.
After narrowly missing out on the win on stage two, Wesley Sulzberger spent stage three of Tour de Slovénie in the early break. Sulzberger started the queen stage in eighth overall, 29” outside of the race lead. The highest placed rider in the early break, Sulzberger was seen as a threat to the overall contenders and brought back by the peloton ahead of the summit finish.
Wesley Sulzberger posted his best result of the season on stage two of the Tour de Slovénie, finishing in second place in a ten-up sprint. Race officials needed to consult a photo of the finish to determine the stage winner, ultimately extending top honours to Fabio Felline (Androni-Venezuela).
Cameron Meyer exceeded expectations on the queen stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Western Australian started the day in tenth overall. He finished in fifth place on stage seven, 22” behind stage winner Rui Costa (Movistar) and jumped up to eighth overall. With two days left in the eight day Swiss Tour, Meyer is 1’42 behind race leader Mathias Frank (BMC).
Svein Tuft took his second time trial win of the season, posting the quickest time on the opening stage of Tour de Slovénie. The eight time Canadian National time trial champion covered the 8.8 kilometre course in Ljubljana, 6” quicker than teammate Brett Lancaster in second. It is the 20th win for ORICA-GreenEDGE this year.
A four rider breakaway contested the stage six victory at the Tour de Suisse. Gregory Rast (Radioshack Leopard Trek) won on home soil, crossing the line 10’43 ahead of Peter Sagan (Cannondale), who proved quickest in the field sprint. Cameron Meyer finished on bunch time to maintain his tenth place position on the general classification ahead a decisive day in the mountains tomorrow.
The Tour de Slovénie begins on Thursday evening with an 8.8 kilometre prologue in the capitol city of Ljubljana. With three prologue specialists amongst its eight rider squad, Sport Director Matt Wilson considers the late night race against the clock the team’s best chance for a top result.
Matt Goss managed sixth place in a complicated sprint finish in Leuggern. Second in Switzerland yesterday, Goss was aiming for the top step of the podium on stage five. Goss sat safely on the last wheel of his lead out train as the peloton tackled a tricky finish circuit but was unable to move up enough in the final kilometres to open his sprint from prime position. He slotted into sixth place as Daryl Impey rounded out the top ten.
Matt Goss sprinted to second in the first bunch sprint of the 2013 Tour de Suisse. Goss gained ground on Arnaud Démare (FJD) in the closing metres of stage four but was unable to overtake the Frenchman ahead of the line. Cameron Meyer finished on bunch time and remains in 11th place on the overall classification.
Lining up for stage three of Tour de Suisse with the yellow jersey still on his back was another special day for Cameron Meyer. The ORICA-GreenEDGE squad gave a tremendous effort yesterday to keep Meyer in the lead. Today’s 203 kilometre stage to Meiringen was another big ask to keep the coveted yellow jersey. The team rode in support of Meyer all day. In the end Meyer fell off the lead group going over the final climb of the day. Finishing in the top 20, Meyer is now in 11th overall, 1’42 behind new race leader Mathias Frank (BMC).
Cameron Meyer started the first road stage of the Tour de Suisse in the yellow jersey after winning the opening stage time trial on Saturday. He knew it would be a big ask to defend the race lead on the stage two summit finish to Crans-Montana. With full support from his team, Meyer conserved energy ahead of the ascent and rode within himself up the climb.
Cameron Meyer posted the fastest time on the opening stage time trial at the Tour de Suisse. Ten seconds quicker than Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) in second, Meyer covered the 8.1 kilometre course in 9’40. The Western Australian will wear yellow during the first road stage tomorrow.