The Herald Sun Tour always promises exciting racing, with an elite selection of the world’s most talented cyclists lining up to compete in Australia’s oldest stage race.
On Wednesday, 96 riders from 16 different teams will compete in the 61st edition of The Herald Sun Tour.
Last year, the Herald Sun Tour was downgraded to a National Event, preventing most professional teams from across the world to take part.
This year, it has regained its regular UCI 2.1 status, permitting the top level World Tour teams to compete once again.
Simon Gerrans from Orica-GreenEDGE will begin the race as the hot favourite. His recent triumphs in the National Road Championships and the Tour Down Under have demonstrated how lethal his current form is.
However, never before has a cyclist won all three events in the one year.
Despite the improbable treble of victories, many still believe Gerrans will be unstoppable in this year’s edition of the Sun Tour, however, Gerrans will not be without competition.
World Tour teams Cannondale and Garmin have also registered in this year’s tour. General Classification riders from Garmin – such as Lachlan Morton, Rohan Dennis and former Sun Herald Tour champion Nathan Haas – will provide many options for GC and should be considered as serious threats to Orica-GreenEDGE.
Recent U23 world road race champion and teenage prodigy Matej Mohoric from Team Cannondale, will also be aiming for solid results in his opening year as a professional.
Defending Champion Calvin Watson will be lining up with the Australian team Korda Mentha. However, due to the increase to UCI 2.1 race status from last year, Watson will face a great challenge to regain his title due to the level of talent in this year’s Tour.
The U23 Australian Team with headline act Caleb Ewan, various NRS domestic teams, and not to mention the World Tour professional teams will ensure this year’s edition of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour will be as exciting as ever.
The final climb up Arthurs Seat is not unlike stage five of the Tour Down Under’s race up Old Willunga Hill.
For those who don’t know, Cadel Evans had a slight lead into the penultimate stage of Willunga Hill over Simon Gerrans. After using his last remaining teammates early into the hill in an attempt to split the peloton, Cadel continued to use energy to bring back non-threatening riders to GC, such as Wesley Sulzberger from Team Drapac who finished 64th overall.
While this was happening, Simon Gerrans waited patiently, surrounded by his teammates Simon Clarke and Daryl Impey.
Richie Porte impressively rode away solo and claimed stage honors with ease, putting 10 seconds into second place Diego Ulissi. Porte finished fourth on GC, with a proportionally large time gap to first place at the time, Cadel Evans, who refused to let Richie out of his sight on stage five.
It was the rash impatience of a man desperate to win that lost Cadel Evans the 2014 Tour Down Under. Had he played his cards differently, I am certain Evans could have held onto the Ochre Jersey.
This is a huge factor into the success of Simon Gerrans. He is a clever man with a cunning knack for bike racing and has many extraordinary results from across the world to prove it.
The 2012 Milan-San Remo (arguably the most prestigious one day race in the world) was won by Simon Gerrans in a display of tactical brilliance.
He was not the fastest sprinter, nor was he the strongest climber up the Poggio that day. It was his preparation and tactical nous that delivered him to the finish line first over Fabian Cancellara.
Simon Gerrans was criticized that day for ‘sitting on’, which means rather than riding on the front, riding behind another cyclist to reduce the athlete’s profile, reduce wind drag and save energy.
Some cyclists perceived this as unfair to Fabian Cancellara, who finished in second place. However, if he had not have sat on, his chances of winning would have been significantly reduced.
Cycling is a dog-eat-dog world, and the winner is often not the strongest rider, but the smartest rider. This, and the fact Simon Gerrans has won two previous editions of The Sun Herald Tour, makes him the obvious favourite for this year’s race.
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