At the Tour de France, all the main stories are about those who are going to stand on the podium of the Champs-Élysées at the end of three weeks of the hardest riding you will come across anywhere.
Ever. However, a growing trend over the last two decades has been the number of Australians in the race.
As Robbie McEwen once described it “At the start of my career it was easy to find all the Aussies in the peloton on the morning of the stage, but at the end of my career it was hard to make sure you had actually seen all the other Aussies.”
That sums up Australia’s growing participation in the race with each and every year.
And it’s not just participation. Remember that bloke named Cadel Evans who won the thing? Or McEwen who took the green jersey three times? Or in more recent times Richie Porte leading race winner Chris Froome up in the high mountains? One thing is for sure, the Aussies aren’t just there to make up the numbers.
So who are they in this year’s race and what can they bring to the table for their respective teams?
Richie Porte (Team Sky)
Porte is going to be the main man for Sky team leader Chris Froome, as he has been for the last couple of years. If Froome falters though then the race is Porte’s to chase. However, seeing as that probably won’t happen he will be apart of the ruthless Team Sky that look to send Froome onwards to victory.
Porte’s secondary goal will be to keep himself as high as possible in the general classification and possibly aim for a top five or podium finish although, with the depth of contenders this year for Froome to win that is unlikely to happen.
Michael Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo)
Rogers, like Porte, will be the main man for his team leader Alberto Contador in the mountains as ‘El Pistolero’ pushes for the double, after winning the Giro d’Italia earlier in the year with Rogers’ assistance.
Rogers is also a bit of an opportunist and if the chance presents itself, expect him to push away for a stage win of his own. Watch out for him in the individual time trial on Stage 1, he is a former world champion in this discipline.
Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing)
Dennis has come on in leaps and bounds in the last year or two, with plenty of major results, particularly after swapping across to the BMC Racing outfit. He will be of major assistance in the Tour to BMC leader Tejay van Garderen, however Dennis himself held yellow during the recent Criterium du Dauphine and he will be looking for a strong performance on the individual time trial on Stage 1.
Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal)
Adam Hansen is the ultimate iron man in the peloton, lining up for his 12th consecutive Grand Tour – a record unlikely to be broken in the foreseeable future.
He will work for sprinter Andre Greipel, however will also look to hit a few breakaways of his own and pinch a stage win, as he has done so many times before.
Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE)
Gerrans has spent time in yellow at the Tour before and earlier this year in pink at the Giro d’Italia. He could be looking to move back into the Maillot Jaune this year on Stage 3, although he could lose time on Stage 1’s individual time trial.
Gerrans however is one of the most punchy riders in the peloton, and with plenty of stages suited to his abilities expect him to claim a stage or two.
Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE)
Durbridge will support his teammates Gerrans, Michael Matthews, Michael Albasini and the Yates brothers, depending on the type of terrain. He will also look to hit his own breakaway at least once and have a strong performance in the individual time trial – his favourite discipline – on Stage 1.
Durbridge is set for a very busy Tour.
Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE)
Matthews has been one of the bright sparks on the world tour in the last couple of years, holding leader’s jerseys, sprinter’s jersey and winning stages on the flat and punchy terrain. He has also performed in classics, and now lining up for his first Tour de France after being ruled out with injury last year he will be extremely keen to impress.
Stage wins will be key but he is Australia’s best chance for the green jersey. If he decides to go down that path? He might just win it.
Mark Renshaw (Etixx-Quickstep)
Mark Renshaw and Mark Cavendish, one of the best sprinting partnerships in Tour de France history, are back together again at the 2015 Tour.
Cavendish crashed out in Stage 1 last year, and after spending a couple of years apart Renshaw will be keen to help Cavendish bag a couple of stages this year.
He is one of the best lead-out men in the business and it is going to be tough to beat them if they are on their game.
Nathan Haas (Cannondale-Garmin)
Haas is in the middle of a very interesting situation at Garmin. With the likes of Andrew Talansky, Daniel Martin and Ryder Hejsedal on the team, he’s got a serious fight for resources (teammates).
Haas however will try and hit a break away at some point and lead the peloton. His name will be called during the Tour, no doubt about it.
Zakkarai Dempster (Bora-Argon 18)
Dempster doesn’t necessarily have hopes for any major results, but in a team that will encourage attacking rider hopefully he can get a top-10 finish on one of the stages. It really is a case of unknown for what to expect for Dempster.
With all the teams locked in for this year’s race, kicking off on Saturday, that is a complete list of the Australians. What do you reckon Roarers? How will the men from Down Under perform? Don’t forget you can catch live coverage of every stage right here, every night on The Roar.
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