Three riders down, believes team will have to perfect its tactics to keep jersey
GreenEdge rider Luke Durbridge has said that he will try to hold on to his race lead in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe in the remaining two stages, but that his team will have to do so through brains rather than brawn.
The team started the 2.1-ranked race without a rider, then lost both Matt Wilson and Brett Lancaster when they pulled out during this morning’s short second stage.
“We’re not going to put our only two guys on the front to control the race,” said Durbridge, who scooped the race lead when he took this afternoon’s 6.8 kilometre time trial. “We’ll need to play off other teams who have specific objectives. I want to go out there and try to stay in the leader’s jersey, but I know we don’t have the manpower to control the race. It would be silly of us to think we could. As for keeping the jersey, we’ll definitely give it a try.”
Durbridge’s success came one day after Daryl Impey soloed to victory on stage two of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, and continued the new team’s strong run of results.
It has now clocked up eight UCI race wins this year, starting with Simon Gerrans’ overall triumph in the Santos Tour Down Under, then continuing with a team time trial victory in Tirreno Adriatico , Gerran’s Milan-Sanremo success, Michael Albasini’s two stages plus the overall in the Volta a Catalunya, Impey’s success yesterday and Durbridge’s triumph today.
Gerrans and Durbridge have also taken the Australian road and time trial championships, respectively.
The latter’s strength against the clock shined through again today, with the world under 23 champion covering the distance in a time of eight minutes 15 seconds. This saw him beat Saxo Bank’s Manuele Boaro, RadioShack Nissan’s Nelson Oliveira and Movistar’s Jonathan Castroviejo by eight seconds.
“I’m really happy with the result today,” he said. “It’s a bit of a surprise to go so well in my first two professional races in Europe. I did hard training back home leading up to these races to put myself in good condition. Obviously, the time trial is my strength, and my race program has included races where the TT is a decisive factor in the overall result. The season is still early, and I want to keep building and see how I go.”
Durbridge started the stage six seconds behind the race leader Sacha Modolo (Colnago CSF Inox), who took over the top slot after yesterday’s stage winner Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) crashed out.
The Australian took some good time trial scalps, beating Denis Menchov (Katusha) by nineteen seconds, Garmin Barracuda pairing Thomas Dekker and Dave Zabriskie by 22 and 24 seconds and Patrick Gretsch (Argos Shimano) by 29. He was thirty seconds clear of Andy Schleck (RadioShack Nissan), who was 40th.
His participation in the race – and thus his first European pro win – came after he decided not to compete in the world track championships. It started today, and his fellow Australian riders suffered a very close defeat to Great Britain in the team pursuit.
He could in theory have made a difference if he was there, but he believes he’s made the right decision. “The track has been a big part of my life, so I’m definitely missing it,” he said. “Right now, especially, it’s hard to watch the guys at Worlds and not be there. But I know I gave it my best crack, and I’ve moved on. Good results on the road keep me happy, and I’m motivated to do more.”
The race continues tomorrow with a 181.8 kilometre stage from Angers to Pré en Pail. It finishes on Friday.
Durbridge is still just twenty years of age and appears to have a big future ahead.