Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Gerrans eyes Ballarat Classic for last minute Worlds preparation

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: News 2010

Published on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 09:28

Written by Luca Salvatelli

The departure of Team Sky from the Vuelta a España following the tragic death of team soigneur, Txema Gonzalez, has sent Australian rainbow jersey hopeful Simon Gerrans’ preparation for the 2010 UCI Road World Championships into disarray.

Gerrans, who was relying on the Spanish race as a critical component of his world championships lead up, will return home at the end of the week and look to compete in a series of local races, including the Herald Sun World Cycling Classic Ballarat, in order to simulate the intense preparation his rivals will gain overseas.

"I am going to try a few (races in Australia) actually," Gerrans said.

"I was actually trying to find some racing and I will probably try and do a little club race for a little bit of intensity and I would probably do 100 kays before and 100 kays after it as a training run as well.

"As soon as I realised there was no racing in Europe I jumped on the websites for Cycling Australia and Cycling Victoria to see what was on back in Victoria and obviously I had read a lot about the Classic there a little while back… but I will be looking a little more into that now."

Gerrans, who had been nominated alongside reigning world champion Cadel Evans as one of the team leaders for the host nation, has admitted his aspirations for the championships have suffered a blow but is determined to make the best of his situation.

"To be honest, I really think I have to reassess my aspirations for the Worlds because I know how critical the Tour of Spain is for that preparation. It's definitely lowered my expectations of what I'll be able to achieve at the world championships but I still think we've got a fantastic team with Matt Goss and Allan Davis getting better and better every day here at the Tour of Spain,” Gerrans said.

"It's hard to get back up when you keep getting knocked down like I have been this year; it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race the world championships on home soil, so there was no way I was just going to put the feet up after this setback and call it a year.

"There's always that extra motivation there to continue and push on through this latest setback and get to Geelong for a result."

Gerrans, who attended Gonzalez’s funeral overnight, will return to Melbourne on Friday, and begin training with Victorian Institute of Sport head cycling coach Dave Sanders.

"I'll head back to Australia and meet up with Dave Sanders and chase him on a motorbike around the Mornington Peninsula. It's proven to work in the past and when it comes down to it you've got to go back to simple things like that and really make the best of the situation," Gerrans said.

"My training will involve six- or seven-hour training rides with the help of a motorbike to keep the pace and also a lot of explosive training sessions to simulate racing the two short climbs on the Geelong circuit.”

Meanwhile, severe weather over the weekend has left two sections of the road race course for the 2010 UCI Road World Championships under water.

The temporary bridge, built specifically for the world championships later this month, sits just inches above the Barwon River waterline whilst its off ramp is currently under water. Barrabool Road was also closed to traffic yesterday as a result of the flooding.

Melbourne 2010 Organising Committee general manager, Michael Palmer was amazed by the amount of rainfall over the past few days.

"We are certainly surprised that the water level is so high,” Mr Palmer said.

"We will obviously be keeping a close eye on the levels over the coming weeks. Hopefully they will fall and the course will dry up in time for the championships, our alternative is to make some late changes to the circuit in Geelong to avoid the flood-prone areas.”

The UCI Road World Championships, held from Wednesday 29 September to Sunday 3 October, will include road races and individual time trials for elite men and women and under-23 men.

As a prelude to the championships, the Herald Sun World Cycling Classic Ballarat will take place on Sunday, 26 September.