News Archive

A Hard Week in the Ardennes
29 April 2008
 
For the past 10 days I’ve been up in Belgium and Holland tackling 3 of the hardest and most prestigious one day races on the calendar. I was very focused going into the week as a result in these three races was my first objective for the season. After claiming the second stage of Criterium International a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling confident of my form and was hoping to achieve some good results.
 
Amstel Gold is probably my favourite one day race of the season. Amstel has 31 catergorised climbs and is know as the race of 1000 corners (there’s not that many). I really enjoy racing over this sort of course, and there’s always a huge crowd of really enthusiastic (and really drunk) spectators creating a great atmosphere. So I was super motivated. I started the day with the full support of my team who did a good job looking after me for as long as possible. With 25km left to race the peloton was down to around 40 riders, then with 15km to go the front group broke up. I just missed the front split of 9 riders ending up in a chasing group of 10 guys, we arrived 45 seconds behind the winner, I finished in 12th place.

At la Fleche Wallonne my day wasn’t as good. My plan for the race was to do as little as possible and save as much energy as I could for the final ascension of the Mur de Huy to the finish line. The first 150km of the race went pretty well. I managed to stay quietly in the group without wasting too much energy, but as the pace started to speed up and the peloton was breaking up, I hit a pot hole and broke my back wheel. With my wheel rubbing against the break I watched the front group disappear, then the 2nd group, the 3rd group and the 4th, until I was finally caught by the convoy and given a new rear wheel by neutral spares. I knew my day was over. A couple of my team mates dropped back to try and help me catch back up to what was left of the main group, so we chased for a little before calling it a day. I was pretty disappointed, but hey, that’s racing.

The last race of the week was Liege Bastonge Liege. Liege is probably the hardest one day race on the calendar with 261km of nothing but climbing and descending. My two former attempts haven’t left me with great memories, as I’d never made it past the 2nd feed station at the 200km mark. So as you could expect my expectations at Liege weren’t super high, however my form has been good so I was thinking things could only get better from my last attempts. Like the past two races I spent the first part of the race conserving as much energy as possible, I had Nico Roche by my side every pedal stroke of the way keeping me protected from the wind and out of trouble. Things were going well, I was right up there and with the best guys as I collected my feed bag for the 2nd time, then things really heated up. As we hit the Cote de La Redoute with 35km to go, the favourites started attacking, I managed to hanging in there. Then with 20km to go when we climbed the Cote de Roche aux Faucons what was left of the peloton exploded, I ended back in the 2nd group with which I rode to the finish. I was happy I finally made it from Liege to Bastogne and all the way back to Liege again. Next year I’ll be back with much higher ambitions.
 
Simon.

Simon Takes Stage 2 of Criterium International
07/04/2008

Simon claimed the second stage of Critérium International last Sunday, achieving his first victory for the 2008 season and one of his greatest professional wins. His victory came after a long breakaway with the Tour's eventual winner Jens Voigt (Team CSC). Voigt and Simon rode away from their breakaway companions Sandy Casar (FdJ) and Mauro Santambrogio (Lampre) with 20km to go after their formation 15km into the race. As their lead grew to 2m40, Casar and Santambrogio couldn't stay with Simon and Voigt through the hilly terrain. With 300m to go, Simon attacked Voigt to claim the victory. 

Simon now heads to Spain for the Tour du Pays Basque where he will find his form for the spring classics later this month.

RESULTS - Stage 2, Critérium International
1. Simon Gerrans (Credit Agricole)
2. Jens Voigt (CSC)
3. Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)

Simon claims 6th place in the 5th stage of Paris-Nice
15/03/2008

Simon formed part of a 16 man breakaway in today's 172.5km stage 5 from Althen-des-Paluds to Sisteron. The strong group was represented by a number of teams with no threat to the overall general classification. With 15km to go, Simon's team mate Pierre Roland joined Barredo (Quick step), Kroon (CSC), Mori (Saunier Duval), and Moreau (Agritubel) in an attack from the leading 16. There gap increased to 30 seconds over Simon's group and stayed away until the finish where Barredo claimed victory. Simon sprinted in the remanding breakaway riders to claim 6th place in the stage.

Australian Championships - Race Review
14/01/2008

The 2008 Australian Championship has been run and won by Matt Lloyd, in a thrilling race that saw a breakaway group of 9 assume a strong lead of over 6 minutes.

The day started out cool and windy with the thermometer reading only 12 degrees on the circuit 1 hour prior to the race start. Light rain soon followed but by the time the race was underway, the rain had stopped and gradually over the next 4 hours the clouds slowly cleared.

The first attack of the day saw a group of 5 ride off the front followed by another group of 4 who joined the 5 on the decent after Mt Buninyong. The peloton seemed relaxed to let the group of 9 go, however after 4 short laps the leaders had created a strong 6’11 lead over the main field. This lead put some pressure on Simon and his Credit Agricole team mates in Jeremy Hunt and Mark Renshaw. Hunt, while trying to reel in the time gap, lead the peloton for 2 laps while Simon and Renshaw found good position up the front of the group. The lead riders began to get dropped one by one and by lap 13 the chasing peloton had disintegrated to no more than 20 riders. Matt Lloyd, in an attack that went unnoticed, strongly rode himself into the Green and Gold and claimed victory by 49 seconds from a strong finishing pair of Adam Hansen and Rory Sutherland.

Simon had a mixed day hoping that 2008 would be his year to claim the Aussie title however it was not meant to be. He ended up 5th after attacking with Matt Wilson on the last lap while trying to bridge the gap to Hansen and Sutherland.

Results
1. Matt Lloyd (Silence-Lotto)
2. Adam Hansen (Team High Road)
3. Rory Sutherland (Health-Net)
4. Ritchie Porte (TAS)
5. Simon Gerrans (Credit Agricole

GP Ouest Plouay
31 August 2007

Simon lines up for his last ProTour race for 2007 at the GP Ouest Plouay this weekend. The strong Ag2r line up includes French champion Christophe Moreau and in-form John Gadret, fresh from his win at the Tour l'An.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the GP Plouay: Martin ELMIGER - John GADRET - Simon GERRANS - Lloyd MONDORY - Christophe MOREAU - Rinaldo NOCENTINI - Christophe RIBLON - Nicolas ROUSEAU

For more information on the race click here to be redirected to the race's official website.

GERRANS’S lucky break - by Rupert Guinness of The Sydney Morning Herald
9 July 2007

SIMON Gerrans has revealed that he "gambled" his selection in the French Ag2r team for the Tour de France by opting to race less in the lead-up to ensure he began the 3569.9-kilometre race with enough reserves.

The Victorian, in his third Tour, bagged the last and ninth spot on the team led by evergreen French contender and national road champion Christophe Moreau. Gerrans will be one of Moreau's domestiques. However, when told of his selection 10 days before the start in London, Gerrans was warned that if any French teammate produced a top result in the national titles they would take his spot.
Luckily for Gerrans, 27, that didn't happen and he was among the 189 starters on Saturday.
"I was told I had been selected, then I said, 'I want to go into the Tour fully prepared and rested for it'," Gerrans told the Herald. "They said, 'OK, but if someone gets a good result they get your spot'. It was a gamble.

"But it was a gamble for my benefit and I think for the benefit of the team as well. One thing I have learned is that you can't go into the Tour feeling exhausted. And that happens when you have people fighting for that last spot. There is no point racing yourself into the ground just to get into the team and then having nothing left for the team when the Tour starts. But that still happens in cycling here, so competitive is it to get to start the Tour."

For Gerrans and domestiques like him in all of the 21 nine-man teams in the Tour, the next three weeks are arguably more taxing on the mind and body than they are for their respective leaders who are chasing victory. The domestique is a virtual slave to his leader. Their purpose is to do all they can - on the flat and in the mountains - to help the team win any of its objectives, from the yellow jersey for overall winner, to the green jersey for best sprinter, the red and white polka dot for best climber, the white for best under-25 rider, or for stage wins. That involves offering protection to the leader from the wind, chasing down dangerous attacks, setting the tempo in crucial parts of a stage to tire out rivals, and offering drinks, food or even their bike if their leader has mechanical problems. And more often than not, the domestique is cast adrift of the pack in exhaustion when their daily work is done, and left to "win" their own race - to finish the stage inside the time limit and do it all again on another day.

That task began overnight, Sydney time, in the first of 20 stages in this year's Tour - a 203km leg from London to Canterbury, after which the Tour transfers back to the European mainland for tonight's 168.5km second stage from Dunkirk to Gent.

For Gerrans results mattered not in Saturday's 7.9km prologue time trial in London, won by Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara (CSC). It was more a chance to test the legs and get a measure of form for the weeks ahead. Gerrans, 138th at one minute, six seconds, would have been more interested to see how Moreau fared (56th at 49 seconds) against his rivals - German Andreas Kloden (second at 13s), Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov (seventh at 30s), Australians Cadel Evans (17th at 36s) and Michael Rogers (20th at 37s), Spaniard Oscar Pereiro (21st at 37s), American Levi Leipheimer (26th at 40s) and Russian Denis Menchov (27th at 40s).

"It will be in the Alps [starting at stage seven] that the Tour will open up. Until then we have to make sure Christophe stays out of trouble. After the prologue we don't want him to lose any time," Gerrans said.

This article was published Monday 9 July, 2007 – The Sydney Morning Herald.

Simon selected for the Tour
2 July 2007

Simon has taken the 9th spot on Ag2r's Tour de France team. The 2007 edition will be Simon's third participation in the Tour.

'We have a really strong group of guys this year headed by Chrsitophe Moreau who has shown fantastic form lately. We have a number of riders who will be aiming for a strong performance on GC and there will be pleanty of fire power to back them up. On a personl note I am thrilled to be starting my third Tour. My goals for the race will be to support our GC guys and if the opportunity arises go for a stage win'.

Ag2r Prevoyance 2007 Tour de France line up:
Simon GERRANS - Christophe MOREAU - Martin ELMIGER - John GADRET - Cyril DESSEL - Sylvain CALZATI - Ludovic TURPIN - Stephane GOUBERT - Jose Luis ARRIETA

For more information on the Tour de France click here to be redirected to the official race website.

Simon lines up at the 2007 Tour de Suisse
15 June 2007

Simon has arrived in Switzerland ready to compete in the 71st edition of the Tour de Suisse. The ProTour race is regarded as one of the most prestigious stage races on the calendar and is one of only a handful of races leading up to the start of the the Tour de France. The nine days of racing will cover a total of 1225km around the Suisse countryside and will feature a prologue, seven road stages including six mountain top finishes and a final individual road time trial. The race will be Simon's final opportunity to confirm his selection in Ag2r's Tour de France line up.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Tour de Suisse:
Hubert DUPONT – Martin ELMIGER - John GADRET - Simon GERRANS – Rene MANDRI – Rinaldo NOCENTINI – Christophe RIBLON – Alexandre USAU

Race details:
Stage 1 (Sat 16): Olten > Olten – Prologue 3.8km
Stage 2 (Sun 17): Olten > Luzern – 158.6km
Stage 3 (Mon 18) : Brunnen > Nauders – 228.7km
Stage 4 (Tue 19) : Nauders > Triesenberg-Malbun – 167km
Stage 5 (Wed 20): Vaduz > Giubasco – 194km
Stage 6 (Thu 21) : Giubasco > Crans-Montana - 190.5km
Stage 7 (Fri 22) : Ulrichen > Grimselpass – 125km
Stage 8 (Sat 23) : Innertkrichen > Schwarzsee – 152km
Stage 9 (Sun 24) : Bern > Bern – IRTT 34.2km

For more information on the Tour de Suisse click here to be redirected to the official race website.

Simon takes out GP de Plumelec
5 June 2007

Simon took out the 1.1 catogorised GP de Plumelec in France last Saturday. The 31st edition of the race, covered over 174km in the western region of Bretagne, was Simon's first victory for 2007.

After finding himself in breakaways for most of the race, Simon attacked the 12-rider lead group with 20km to go. He held on to the lead and crossed the finished line 42 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Simon is currently placed 2nd in the French Cup series on 84 points, 10 points behind Yann Huguet of Cofidis.

Race Results:
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2R 4h02'52"
2. Yann Huguet (Fra) COF 0'42"
3. David De Lay (Fra) BAL 0'45"

Simon will line up for two one-day races in France

29 May 2007

The next two races on Simon's program are the Grand Prix de Plumelec (C.F) and the Circuit de L'Aulne, both held this coming weekend in the north of France. After the two one-day races, Simon will head into a team training camp around the French Alps prior to the start of the Tour de Suisse.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the GP de Plumelec:

Sylvain CALZATI - Philip DEIGNAN – John GADRET - Simon GERRANS – Stéphane GOUBERT - Julien LOUBET - Blaise SONNERY – Ludovic TURPIN

Race details: Plumelec to Plumelec, 174km

Ag2r Prevoyance for Circuit de L'Aulne:

Sylvain CALZATI - Philip DEIGNAN - Simon GERRANS – Stéphane GOUBERT - Julien LOUBET – Stéphane POULHIES - Nicolas ROUSSEAU - Blaise SONNERY

Race details: Chateaulin to Chateaulin, 164.1km

Tour de Lorraine
16 May 2007

Simon's next race will now be the Tour de Lorraine in the north of France. Originally, Simon was to race the Tour de Catalogne however after his crash in the Tour de Romandie his race program had to change. The 5-stage race should benefit Simon as he sets his sights on the Tour de Suisse and selection for the Tour de France.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Tour de Lorraine:
Simon GERRANS – David NAVAS – Jean-Patrick NAZON – Stéphane POULHIES – Blaise SONNERY – Ludovic TURPIN

Race details:
Wed 23 May: Stage 1: Thionville > Longwy – 152km
Thu 24 May: Stage 2: Briey > Commercy – 158km
Fri 26 May: Stage 3: Nomeny > Epinal – 189km
Sat 26 May: Stage 4: Rombas > Bettembourg – 161km
Sun 27 May: Stage 5: Metz > Hayange – 154km

Tour de Romandie

1 May 2007

Simon has joined Ag2r for the 61st edition of the Tour de Romandie. The Swiss ProTour race is usually a target for the Giro contenders and comprises one prologue, four tough road stages and an individual time trial. Last year's edition was won by Australian Cadel Evans after a strong performance in the final time trial.

Simon heads into the race with good form after the classics last week and is hoping for some good results.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Tour de Romandie:

José Luis ARRIETA - Sylvain CALZATI - Cyril DESSEL - Martin ELMIGER - John GADRET - Simon GERRANS - Christophe MOREAU - Ludovic TURPIN

Race details:

Tue 01 May: Fribourg > Fribourg, Prologue 3.5km

Wed 02 May: Granges-Paccot > La Chaux de Fonds, 157.8km

Thu 03 May: La Chaux de Fonds > Lucens, 168.7km

Fri 04 May: Moudon > Charmey-Gruyère, 163.8km

Sat 05 May: Charmey-Gryère > Morgins, 155.9km

Sun 06 May: Lausanne > Lausanne, IRTT 20.4km

Further information on the Tour de Romandie can be found at: www.tdr.ch

Simon heads to the Northern Classics
17 April 2007

Amstel Gold Race - 22 April 2007

The 42nd Amstel Gold Race will take place on Sunday 22 April 2007. Being the only Dutch ProTour race, Amstel is a big deal for Holland's ProTour team Rabobank.

La Fletche Wallone - 25 April 2007

La Fleche Wallonne was created to boost the sales of a newspaper Les Sports during the 1930s and was first run in 1936. 2007 will see 24 teams battle it out in the 71st edition of the tough classic. Last years race was won by Spanish all-rounder Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears in a sprint finish.The 202.5km race departs the town of Charleroi at 11h15, and will finish at the top of the Mur de Huy around 16h20 on Wednesday 25 April 2007.

Liege-Bastone-Liege - 29 April 2007

24 teams will take part in the 93rd edition of Liege-Bastone-Liege. Departing Liege early on Sunday morning, riders will cover 262km finishing the race at the top of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas, a 1km 11.1% climb.

'Potential winners are generally many in number which makes a victory in Liège all the more admirable. In reality, there are no Liège-Bastogne-Liège specialists; only solid athletes, masters in the art of cycling. The succession of difficulties in the last fifty kilometres makes the challenge even tougher, but the sequence of steep climbs to be conquered leaves the stakes open right up to the final stretch of the race. It's a confirmed success' (ASO website).

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Northern Classics:
José-Luis ARRIETA – Samuel DUMOULIN (only Amstel & Flèche) – Martin ELMIGER (only Amstel) - John GADRET – Simon GERRANS – Rinaldo NOCENTINI – Hubert DUPONT (only Flèche & Liège) – Ludovic TURPIN (only Flèche & Liège) - Stéphane GOUBERT (only Liège) – Christophe MOREAU – Christophe RIBLON (only Amstel)

SImon heads to the west of France to compete in the GP de la Rennes and Circuit de la Sarthe
8 April 2007

Grand Prix de la Ville de Rennes

Simon will be racing in the 4th round of the Coupe de France this weekend at GP de la Rennes. After successful breakaways in the previous two C.F races, today's race may end up in a bunch kick. Simon placed 2nd in his last start in a C.F race and will be hoping for a strong result for his team today.

Ag2r Prevoyance for GP de la Rennes: Christophe MOREAU - Philip DEIGNAN - Simon GERRANS - Jean Patrick NAZON - Rene MANDRI - John GADRET - Nicolas ROUSSEAU - Blaise SONNERY

Race distance: 179km

Circuit de la Sarthe

Circuit de la Sarthe is being held in the north-west of France near the headquarters of Simon's amateur team Team U Nantes-Atlantique. He regularly trained and raced over these roads during 2004 and is excited at the opportunity to head back to his old stomping ground. The race will consist of four road stages and one individual road time trial.

Ag2r Prevoyance for Circuit de la Sarthe: Yuriy KRIVTSOV - Christophe MOREAU - Ludovic TURPIN - Philip DEIGNAN - Simon GERRANS - Jean Patrick NAZON

10/04: La Roche sur Yon > Riaillé – 190.9km
11/04: Riaillé > Angers – 99.8km
11/04: Angers > 8.8km (CLM)
12/04: Angers > Le Belvédère – 184.6km
13/04: Mamers > Le Mans – 188.8km

For more information on the race including live race coverage please go to the official race website at: www.circuitcycliste.sarthe.com

SImon joins Ag2r team mates at Criterium International
28 March 2007

2007 will see the 76th edition of the prestigious Criterium International. 20 teams will start the race comprising of 11 ProTour teams, 8 Pro-Continental teams and 1 Continental team.

'The Critérium International's winners' list also illustrates, in the form of a nearly comprehensive list of the cycling legend, the vigour required to stand out in this sport. Bobet, Anquetil, Poulidor, Thévenet, Zoetemelk, Hinault, Fignon, Kelly, Roche, Indurain, and Jalabert have mastered it: the start-of-season triptych race provides an opportunity to take a first review of the strengths present among the world elite. For the seventh time in a row, the Critérium is taking place around Charleville-Mézières on the roads of the Ardennes region of France, which lend themselves perfectly to the spirit of the event. The first leg, between Asfeld and Charleville-Mézières, has traditionally been reserved for sprinters, but the 2006 edition showed that breakaway attempts are still possible. The hill stage, the difficulties of which correspond to attackers as well as to climbers, promises a radical selection. The verdict is then given on the town's streets, after a short and technical time trial'. (ASO website)

Ag2r Prevoyance for Criterium International: Sylvain CALZATI –Samuel DUMOULIN - Hubert DUPONT - Yuriy KRIVTSOV – John GADRET – Simon GERRANS – René MANDRI – Jean-Patrick NAZON

1st stage (Sat 31 Mar): ASFELD – CHARLEVILLE MEZIERES – 179km
2nd stage (Sun 1 Apr): LES VIEILLES FORGES – MONTHERME – 98.5km
3rd stage (Sun 1 Apr): CHARLEVILLE MEZIERES – CHARLEVILLE MEZIERES – 8.3km IRTT

For more information about Criterium International including live race reports and results, please go to the official race website www.letour.fr.

Simon will be racing in Switzerland over the weekend
1 March 2007

Simon will be racing in Switzerland over the weekend in two UCI 1.1 classified races, the Grand Prix du Chiasso on Saturday 3 March and the Grand Prix de Lugano on Sunday 4 March.

Ag2r Prevoyance for both GP du Chiasso and GP de Lugano:
José.Luis ARRIETA – Cyril DESSEL – Samuel DUMOULIN – Martin ELMIGER – Simon GERRANS - Stéphane GOUBERT – Rinaldo NOCENTINI – Ludovic TURPIN

Simon comes 2nd in Haut Var and takes the lead in the Coupe de France*
25 February 2007

Simon has placed 2nd behind Italian Filippo Pozzato (Liq) in the 39th running of the Tour du Haut Var. The 192.4km opening round of the French Cup was raced from Draguignan to Draguignan in the south of France. Check out Simon's race diary for more info on what happened in the race.

Results
1. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
2. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Ag2r Prevoyance
3. Riccardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa) Tinkoff Credit Systems

*The Coupe de France is a competition open only to French registered teams.

Simon races at Tour du Haut Var
23 February 2007

Simon heads to Haut Var on Sunday 25 February for his third race in Europe. This race is classically a hilly race won by an early in-form rider. Look for riders such as Nibali (Liqugas), F. Schleck (CSC) and Ten Dam (Unibet.com).

Race details: Draguignan to Draguignan, 192.4 km, start: 11h30, finish: 16h32.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Tour du Haut Var: Sylvain CALZATI - Cyril DESSEL - Hubert DUPONT - Simon GERRANS - Stephane GOUBERT - Rene MANDRI - Christophe MOREAU -Ludovic TURPIN

Simon's next race will be Trofeo Laigueglia
13 February 2007

Simon has withdrawn from the Tour of Mediterraneen due to illness. His next race will now be the Trofeo Laigueglia, a one day UCI 1.1 ranked race in Italy on Tuesday 20 February. The race will be Simon's second one day event in Europe this year.

Race details: Laigueglia to Laigueglia, 183.3km, start: 10h40, finish: 15h30.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the Trofeo Laigueglia: Hubert DUPONT – Simon GERRANS – Laurent MANGEL – Christophe MOREAU – Carl NAIBO - Ronaldo NOCENTINI – Christophe RIBLON - Ludovic TURPIN

Rene Mandri will replace Simon in Ag2r's team at the Tour of Med.

Simon heads to Grand Prix de la Marseillaise

6 February 2007

Simon will contest the GP de la Marseillaise on Tuesday 6 February. The 2006 edition of the race was won by fellow Australian Baden Cooke (Unibet.com), with Simon suffering a bad fall in the final sprint.
Simon will return to the race in the South of France as his first competition in Europe.

Ag2r Prevoyance for GP de la Marseillaise: Samuel DUMOULIN - Hubert DUPONT - Simon GERRANS - Yuriy KRIVTSOV - Laurent MANGEL - Christophe MOREAU

Simon heads to Adelaide to defend his Tour Down Under title

17 January 2007

After a mixed start to 2007 including a win in stage 5 of the Bay Cycling Classic and withdrawal from the Australian Open Road Championships, Simon has headed over to Adelaide to defend his Tour Down Under title.

Simon joined his Ag2r team mates on Monday morning with a light ride around the streets of Adelaide prior to attending the official Team Presentation of the 9th edition of the race. ‘I’m feeling positive about the race this year. The team has sent out a strong group of guys and we are keen to defend the title’. When asked about possible contenders for the race, Simon was keeping all options open. ‘It is always hard to know who will be contenders at a race like this, being at the start of the season, however I think that Team CSC with Stuart O’Grady and South Australia.com with Gene Bates will be the on-form teams to watch’.

The Tour Down Under is from the 17th-21st of January 2007. All information can be found at www.tourdownunder.com.au or www.cyclingnews.com.

Ag2r Prevoyance for the 2007 Tour Down Under: Cyril DESSEL - Samuel DUMOULIN - Martin ELMINGER -Simon GERRANS - Yuriy KRIVTSOV - Carl NAIBO - Ludovic TURPIN