The 2016 road season is just around the corner with Orica-GreenEdge planning to hit the ground running with the Australian racing calendar a primary target for the WorldTour team.
The team is about to hold a camp in Australia with Simon Gerrans and Caleb Ewan expected to lead the line at the road nationals, Sun Tour and Tour Down Under.
“We start racing on the first of January. It’s important that we hit the ground running but we have an advantage because we’re racing at home and there’s no excuse with our riders having bad winter weather or travel issues,” team director Matt White told Cyclingnews.
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“Also, our sponsors want us to be very visible in these races. We don’t have many UCI races here so we have to have a strong presence at home.”
Most rival WorldTour teams use the Australian summer to give young pros an opportunity and to warm up their Classics stars after a brief winter of hibernation. With the racing kicking off on home soil Orica-GreenEdge have to balance the demands of a strong start to the year with the fact that they still have a long season ahead of them.
White believes such a plan can be successful, and has split his squad accordingly with riders such as Michael Matthews skipping the domestic races and being held back until later in the season. Gerrans, who crashed on the eve of the Tour Down Under last year, is set to return, while Caleb Ewan is likely, although not confirmed, to race the Tour Down Under for the first time in Orica-GreenEdge colours.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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