Phil Anderson wrote an article not too far back entitled GreenEDGE lack the edge as Europe heats up.
The article certainly stirred up some debate. Many responses, including my own, to his article did did not agree with his position.
To be clear, GreenEDGE has had a great year those far. Simon Gerrans has been in great form. Simon won the National Jersey (something that is highly coveted in Australian cycling circles), took line honours at the Tour Down Under and then pulled out a huge finish to take Milan San-Remo (MSR), one of the biggest one-day races of the calendar.
Phil Anderson noted the win at MSR was against the odds. It is completely unclear what he means by this, but the reality is Gerrans rode an exceptional race, he jumped when he needed to and timed his sprint to near perfection.
Michael Albasini took second in the Fleche Wallone and also won the Tour of Catalonia
Full stop at this point – GreenEDGE could not win another race this year and it would be considered a success. Some pro teams, who have been around for a lot longer than GreenEDGE, have never won a Classic or a Grand Tour.
The Tour of Turkey is currently underway and Matt Goss (who was a very close second to the ultimate winner Mark Cavendish at the World Champs in 2011 and won MSR in 2011) is starting to hit some form at the right time. He has had three second placings behind Andrew ‘The Gorilla’ Griepel, (who has been in great form following stage wins at the 2012 touchdownU) and Rabo Bank’s Theo Bos and Australian Mark Renshaw who pipped Goss by 0.0008 seconds.
Wilst the Tour of Turkey is not a major tour event, it attracts all the top sprinters as a major race block before the Giro D’Italia starts. The only major big name sprinter missing in Turkey is Cavendish so Goss and Renshaw’s efforts are not to be underestimated.
So, where to from here for GreenEDGE?
First up is the Giro D’Italia with a clear focus on stage wins, specifically during the first two weeks of the three week Grand Tour where the team hopes to be able to conquer the Maglia Rosa leader’s jersey. Green Edge have named a nine man team with Matt Goss the leader for the sprints and the key man they will look to put into the race leader’s pink jersey. They will then pull him out before the start of the third week as this is where the mountains take hold.
For those of you that don’t know much about the Giro, it is one of the three Grand Tours (the others being the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España), and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. It is the second most prominent stage race in the world (after the Tour), and along with the Tour and the Road World Cycling Championship it makes up the Triple Crown of Cycling. It has been running since 1909 and has some of the most brutal mountain climbs that a cyclist can endure, culminating in the penultimate stage which sees the riders climb the famous Stelvio – roughly 25km at an average gradient of 7.4 percent with 60 hairpin turns.
From there the focus will shift to the Tour de France with much the same layout as the Giro. GreenEDGE’s goal must be to win a few stages and potentially have a crack at the Green Jersey if things start well enough. Personally I hope that Cameron Meyer is given the green light for the Tour de France as I believe he is the next big thing in world cycling.
His size and power output (in time) could make him a real contender for the GC classification. One only needed to see his efforts at the Track World champs a few weeks ago to see that this guy has the goods.
Until next time, clip in!
liquorbox_
Guest
Cav is strong enough to "tag" along with other teams trains, he has shown in the past he is able to push other sprinters around, he just needs one rider to get him over the mountains and he can do the rest. I think Wiggins will win, if he crashes then I hope it is in stage one, as I really think that Michael Rogers is also capable of winning the TDF if was to get the chance, he can climb, and he is a former world Time trial winner. GreenEDGE are becoming frustrating, the have had success with Albisini when he was in a break earlier in the season and since this success they have not been in one break since!! Why break a winning formula? Well done to Goss on the sprinters jersey today
Bones506
Roar Guru
Appreciate the comments Liquorbox. I think you will find they can. He is a rider who has time on his side and they will develop him with the strength of their squad and experience they already hsve. You will find that the Aussies will try and stick with an Aussie team if they can. You only need to read McEwen and Cav's books to see the big movements that go in in the Euro teams and the difficulties with the huge mix of Managers and Directors from other countries. With Regards to Wiggins I assume you mean for the sake of Cadel? Sky need to figure out the game plan given Cav will want the Green jersey so you will not have Wiggins and Chris Froome working for him and Cav will have a key lead out rider assigned to him I would have thought so a team of 9 is down to 7 already either way you cut it. Cadel will have all 8 riders working for him.
liquorbox_
Guest
I would select Meyer as a GC rider but allow him to "wear himself out" trying to get it. If he does not last the whole tour then so be it, he will know how much more fitter he needs to get. Meyer will be a star, but can GreenEDGE hold onto him, and more importantly develop him? I think that for Austrlalias interests we need Wiggins to be injured and for Rogers to be given the green light by SKY Racing, he is the inform cyclist this season but will not be allowed to race for himself. Great article, it is refreshing to see an article that disputes a "qualified" writer. Well done
Chris McKay
Guest
Goss will def ride the TDF. He will be the key lead out man for the Sprint. He will ride the first two weeks of Giro and then pull out when it hits the big hills - very common for Sprinters. They struggle, compared to a GC and climber, on the big climbs and the Green Jersey is the ultimate prize. Hard to say who the final team will be as a few of the guys lining up for the GIRO are somewhat inexperienced at Grand Torus and they will need to manage the riders and see how they pull up. Jens Keukeleire and Daryl Impey are making their Grand Tour debuts at the Giro. I would love to see Cam Meyer start. He has the power to be a real threat in the Time Trials and given his size he is great with big efforts and recoveries (owing to the qucik turn arounds needed for Track cycling) so a Grand Tour will suit him. With that said it does take time. Most riders struggle to finish a Grand Tour in their first year or two as it is a brutal assault. He is only 24 so time is on his side. Svein Tuft will also make the cut. He put in a monster effort on the front for GreenEDGE earlier in the year at Tirreno-Adriatico that had all the pros talikng. Pure Diesel. Simon Gerran's is also a logical choice. He has been in great form this year and he is experienced so you need a mix to ensure you are developing as a team.
Stevo
Guest
Great article !!! Matty Goss rides the TDF 100%, he will do 2 weeks of Giro then freshen up, a few sprinters will do the same schedue. Here is my pick for the TDF -Goss -Gerrans -Ogrady -Albasini -Weening -Vaitkus -Langeveld -Lancaster -Meyer or Davis Know body for GC, like they have always stated, great team for stages and the green. Heard Cam will ride GC in the Vuelta?
tommy
Guest
Will goss ride the tour if he is in the giro? Would be interested in your thoughts on who should be in the greenedge team for the tour.