Tour Down Under: Australian quartet to spearhead Saxo Bank and Garmin-Cervélo teams

Season-opening WorldTour race just a fortnight away

Australian riders Luke Roberts, Jonathan Cantwell, Heinrich Haussler (pictured) and Nathan Haas will all have a chance to shine on home soil next month, following confirmation that they will be part of their respective teams’ lineup in the Santos Tour Down Under.

Roberts and Cantwell have been verified as being part of the Saxo Bank lineup for the WorldTour race, which begins in just over two weeks’ time. They will be joined by the strong Portuguese rider Sergio Paulinho, winner of two Tour de France stages, the Danes Anders Lund and Jonas Jorgensen, Polish rider Jaroslaw Marycz and Takashi Miyazawa.

The latter will be the first Japanese rider to ever take part in the race.

Garmin-Cervélo’s Haussler is seeking a strong year after an injury-plagued 2010 affected his base for 2011, causing him to be passed over for the Tour de France. He had an impressive year in 2009, finishing a very close second in Milan Sanremo, winning a stage of the Tour de France and clocking up other strong results, but since then hasn’t been able to hit the same form.

He’s got a solid season behind him, though, and hopes to be back to full form in the months ahead. Jayco Herald Sun Tour winner Haas is a new signing to the team and is determined to impress.

The duo will be joined by a very strong lineup; Tour de France and Ardennes Classics contender Ryder Hesjedal (Canada) will be there, as well as the strong sprinter Robbie Hunter (South Africa), new signing Jack Bauer (New Zealand), Andreas Klier (Germany) and the Dutchman Martijn Maaskant.

Race director Mike Turtur has said he is very interested to see how the new Australian signings can fare. “It will be great to see Cantwell make his debut with Saxo Bank at our race,” he stated. “With 37 victories in his career, most in Australia and the US, it will be interesting to see the impression he can make on the WorldTour stage in 2012.”

Both squads will be directed by Australians; the Saxo Bank team will be guided by former pro Bradley McGee, while ex-professional Allan Peiper will oversee the Garmin-Cervélo squad.

The Santos Tour Down Under programme kicks off on January 15th with the 51 kilometre Down Under Classic. The GC battle starts two days later with stage one, a 149 kilometre race from Prospect to Clare.

Santos Tour Down Under 2012 lineup:

Team Saxo Bank:

Directeur sportif: Allan Peiper