We usually leave the live race updates to the official sources, for a variety of reasons we’ve repeatedly detailed, but when Assistant Sport Director Julian offered to share updates from the second race car at the Giro d’Italia today, we took him up on it.
Cameron Meyer used the stage six individual time trial to leapfrog from sixth to third on the Amgen Tour of California general classification. He had said since stage one that he had hoped to use the technical time trial in San Jose to put in time as his main rivals. Mission accomplished.
Brett Lancaster sprinted to fourth place in Cherasco, moving up one position over his fifth place showing yesterday. The Victorian has stepped up to contest the fast finishes at the Giro d’Italia this week as Matt Goss recovers from illness.
In October 2012, GreenEDGE Cycling announced that it would implement a range of initiatives to reaffirm its firm stance against doping beginning with a full external expert review of its policies and procedures and a pro-active review of all riders and team members.
The fifth stage of the Amgen Tour of California looked straightforward on paper. Crosswinds made it anything but. Fifty kilometres from the finish, 18 riders made the front group selection after echelons formed over to combat the wind. ORICA-GreenEDGE had put four riders up the road. In his own words, Sport Director Matt Wilson describes the day.
Brett Lancaster sprinted to fifth in Treviso to cap off another wet day at the Giro d’Italia. The peloton raced in a downpour from start to finish on stage 12 where Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) took his 100thprofessional victory. Matt Goss, suffering from a chest cold, did not contest the finish.
Michael Matthews sprinted to sixth place in Santa Barbara on the fourth stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Tyler Farrar (Garmin Sharp) proved quickest in the hectic finale to take the win ahead of Ken Hanson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step). Matthews reported getting 'stuck in the barriers' 300 metres from the finish
Jens Keukeleire has been on the attack during most of the medium mountain stages of the Giro d’Italia. Today was no exception. Determined to get up the road, when Keukeleire missed out on the escape, he bridged across alone to feature into the day’s move. In his own words, Keukeleire describes stage 11, where he finished in 13th place.
Baden Cooke began to raise his hands in celebration. The last lead out man for Michael Matthews, Cooke had dropped the team’s sprinter off in perfect position with a clear run to the line. Matthews looked set to secure his first Amgen Tour of California stage victory. Cooke was delighted.
The first summit finish of the Giro d’Italia promised fireworks amongst the overall contenders. Montasio delivered on that promise. Rigoberto Uran (Team Sky) jumped from a group of favourites to take a solo stage victory on stage ten as the overall contenders traded blows in his wake.
Cameron Meyer rode his way up the final slope of stage two of the Amgen Tour of California to become the top finisher for ORICA-GreenEDGE. After a tough opening stage in California yesterday, the squad was primed to rally around Meyer on a stage that finished with a tough climb that averaged over nine percent. Meyer fought the oppressive heat on the unrelenting climb to finish in a satisfying tenth place.
Mitch Docker was the top finisher for ORICA-GreenEDGE on the opening stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Most commonly slotted into one of the final spots in the team’s sprint train, Docker had the opportunity to sprint for himself in Escondido. He managed sixth in the field sprint, good for eighth on the stage, with two riders crossing the line just ahead of their chasers.
Jessie MacLean (@aussiejessmac) captured the sentiment of ORICA-AIS in a post-race tweet: “I feel like we were invited to the party but kicked out before the music started.”
Pieter Weening lost contact with the overall contenders on the penultimate climb of the ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia. The difficult day included four categorised climbs, totaling over 1,200 metres of climbing. ORICA-GreenEDGE had hoped to put Jens Keukeleire into the early break and save Weening for the finish.
Five months ago, when Luke Durbridge learned that he would get his first Grand Tour start at the Giro d’Italia this year, he set a personal objective. He wanted to finish in the top six in the individual time trial. Mission accomplished. The Australian National Time Trial Champion slotted into sixth place on the stage eight time trial, 35” behind stage winner Alex Dowsett (Movistar).
In its eighth year, the Amgen Tour of California once again promises to fulfil big expectations from riders and fans alike. This year the tour begins in Escondido, a city located near the border of Mexico, and finishes in the picturesque city of Santa Rosa, 853 kilometres north of the first stage. For eight days, ORICA-GreenEDGE will race alongside 15 other teams over mountain passes and through coastal towns.
It was another wet and wild finale at the Giro d’Italia. Pieter Weening posted his second top ten stage finish, crossing the line in ninth place in Pescara. Light showers turned to heavy rain in the final 20 minutes of racing, and the slippery roads wreaked havoc on the peloton.
Nettie Edmondson accomplished the near impossible today in the Tour of Chongming Island when she won both the stage and the general classification – her first win as a professional. In order for Edmondson to win the overall tour, she not only had to win the final stage but Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products-UCK), one of the quickest riders in the peloton and the overnight race leader, had to finish outside the top three.
Matt Goss sprinted to third in a messy bunch sprint in Margherita di Savoia. The mass finish concluded another hectic Giro d’Italia finale in which several crashes complicated the final hour of racing. Svein Tuft, Brett Lancaster, Christian Meier, Luke Durbridge and Leigh Howard were all involved in pile-ups, with Howard falling heavily on his left shoulder in the largest crash of the race.
ORICA-AIS was on a mission to help Nettie Edmondson secure bonus seconds on offer at two intermediate sprints and on the finish line of Tour of Chongming Island stage two. Edmondson started the day in third overall, 6” behind overnight race leader Lucy Garner (Argos-Shimano).
Matt Goss and Brett Lancaster fell victim to a late race crash in the final corner ahead of the stage five finale at the Giro d’Italia. Wet, slippery roads played a part in the pile-up that eliminated Goss from contesting the bunch sprint on a day ORICA-GreenEDGE had long listed as a target. Jens Keukeleire managed to avoid the mayhem to cross the line in eighth place, on the same time as stage winner John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
On the first stage of the Tour of Chongming Island, Emma Johansson was the top finisher for ORICA-AIS in fourth place. A late race crash took out the team’s leader of the day, Nettie Edmondson, within the last two kilometres. Lucy Garner (Argos-Shimano), the current Junior Road World Champion and relatively unknown at the elite level, took the top honours on the day.
A particularly untimely puncture thwarted Pieter Weening’s hopes of animating the Giro d’Italia stage four finale. Weening, who finished in the top ten on stage three, was the team’s best hope for a result in Serra San Bruno.
ORICA-AIS headed to China on Sunday to acclimate to a six hour time difference (Europe – China) ahead of the start of the Tour of Chongming Island. The three day stage race runs Wednesday – Friday and serves as prelude to round five of World Cup racing on Sunday.
Pieter Weening was part of an elite group of riders that formed over the Sella di Catona ascent and managed to keep it upright on the windy, winding descent to Marina di Ascea. Luca Paolini (Katusha) slipped away from the group on the final descent and ultimately took a solo stage victory and the pink jersey 16” ahead of his 16 chasers. Weening slotted into seventh place on the stage.
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ORICA-GreenEDGE believed they had a realistic shot of finishing in the top ten on the Island d’Ischia team time trial. While team discipline is typically a strength of the Australian outfit, the stage two Giro d’Italia course featured undulating roads, one steep climb and constant turns, favouring a team of climbers rather than time trial specialists. As the penultimate team to leave the start house, ORICA-GreenEDGE slotted into ninth in Forio.
Around 12 riders survived a late race crash to contest the sprint finish of the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia. Brett Lancaster and Leigh Howard avoided the mayhem, and with Matt Goss on their wheel, they charged towards the finish line in sunny Naples. Goss opened the sprint before ultimately finishing fifth on the stage.
Ciao a tutti! A few days ago we introduced you to our Giro d’Italia roster. The riders and staff are excited as we look forward to the first Grand Tour of the year. No longer a first year team trying to find our place in the WorldTour, we will go into this year’s Giro with high expectations.
ORICA-GreenEDGE has named its nine man squad for the Giro d’Italia. The selected riders will target specific stages of the first Grand Tour of the season. The team has a two-pronged attack in mind during their three weeks in Italy – furthering the development of the team as a whole and working towards the Tour de France. The nine riders are: Brett Lancaster, Christian Meier, Jens Keukeleire, Jens Mouris, Leigh Howard, Luke Durbridge, Matt Goss, Pieter Weening and Svein Tuft.