He may be in the final years of his career but Simon Gerrans' enthusiasm to race shows no signs of slowing down with the 36-year-old preparing for another winter of hard work before a tilt at a fifth Tour Down Under crown.
A winner in 2006, 2012, 2014, and 2016, Gerrans is the most decorated rider in the race's history in terms of overall wins. He chose to take up the third year on his Orica BikeExchange contract for 2017 and has his sights set on a strong start to the coming campaign.
"The Tour Down Under is very much an objective. For Orica BikeExchange it's an important race. We're an Australian team so there's always an emphasis on it and I structure my season on starting out well there," he told Cyclingnews at the recent Saitama Criterium in Japan.
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"It's always been a big emphasis for me, especially in the last few years. I won it as a second year professional in 2006 and then again in 2012 when I signed with an Australian team. It's been a very important race."
Gerrans long career has seen him become one of Australia's most successful ever road riders with Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Milan-San Remo titles in his palmares. He can also count two stages of the Tour de France and a spell in the yellow jersey to his name.
In 2016 he won the Tour Down Under for the fourth time but his one-day form never reached its peak. He crashed out of the Tour de France but returned to the Vuelta a Espana where he helped Orica BikeExchange have a successful race. Taking part in the final Grand Tour of the season may have helped his team but Gerrans is also hoping it will provide a solid base for next season.
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