Offseason Capsule: Orica GreenEdge, a Solid Start or Still Searching?

The GreenEdge roster read like a who's who of Australian cycling, encompassing veterans like Stuart O'Grady, talents like Simon Gerrans and Matthew Goss in the prime years of their career, and almost all of the promising youngsters like Luke Durbridge, Cameron Meyer, Jack Bobridge... the list goes on and on. Though GreenEdge was created to give Australians a chance to ride for, develop through, and prosper in a team rooted in their home country, team management also looked to the northern hemisphere for promising riders who could prosper with a change of environment. Among others, the team brought classics promise Sebastian Langeveld in from the Rabobank fold, promising sprinters Jens Keukeleire and Aidis Kruopis, and Swiss stalwart Michael Albasni.

The team's fortunes wavered up and down throughout the year. A victory in their home tour gave the team the introduction to the world they were no doubt hoping for and Gerrans' win at Milan - San Remo was a career highlight. But afterwards, Langeveld was invisible in the early cobbled races before crashing out of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Simon Gerrans finished no better than 20th in the Ardennes. May brought good news with the announcement of a title sponsor - Orica - and Goss' win on Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia but was followed by a disappointing Tour de France for the Tasmanian sprinter. Some expectations were met and others left dramatically wanting... was this a solid start for the team, or are they still searching for some magic?

What We Thought Coming In

I can only speak for myself, but when looking at GreenEdge's first year last January, I had far more questions than expectations. The roster was full of potential stars and the question was whether they would flourish in a new environment. Would Goss become a real challenger to Mark Cavendish now that they were on separate teams? Would Gerrans find and improve on his always promising form in the Ardennes classics? Would Sebastian Langeveld improve on his Omloomp Het Nieuwsblad win and 5th in Flanders from 2012 now that he was an undisputed team leader and free of the shackles of Rabobank's much parodied tactical blunders? And finally, how would all the young talents grouped together ride?

What We Got

New teams - especially those intended to focus on riders from a particular nation - often have a hard time living up to expectations. Sky's 2010 season was solid, but perhaps not what fans hoped for, particularly when British cornerstones like Bradley Wiggins were concerned. Though blips were still present, GreenEdge was fortunate to have a stronger introductory year. Among the team's stars, we saw flashes of the brilliance we expected. Gerrans had perhaps his best year as a professional despite sinking in the Ardennes, winning TDU, San Remo, and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec. Goss took a quality stage win at the Giro but managed no other sprint wins all year. He was consistent, but mere podiums aren't enough to make a good season for a rider of his quality. And Langeveld? Most people's only recollection of him are sights of him being dropped in E3 Prijs and crashing in Flanders.

Below the surface, though, the squad managed to win consistently throughout the year. Albasini remained as strong, canny, and consistent as ever, taking two stage wins and the overall at a weather-shortened Vuelta a Catalunya and another stage in the Tour de Suisse. The real promise, though, was evident in the stellar seasons of younger development projects. Luke Durbridge burst onto the scene at the highest level of the sport with overall wins in two shorter stage races and a prologue victory in Paris-Nice. Aidis Kruopis won throughout the year and Simon Clark took a memorable mountaintop stage win at the Vuelta a España. Victories only tell half the story for developing riders, though, and Clark, Kruopis, Cameron Meyer, and Leigh Howard graced the podium on more than a few occasions over the entire season. Not bad for a bunch of relative kids.

Top 3 Highlights

1. Simon Gerrans and Luke Durbridge dominate early season racing in Australia. Their wins in the Australian road race and time trial championships and then in the Tour Down Under confirmed the team's capability but also avoided major embarrassments if they had not won.
   
   
2. Simon Gerrans outsmarts Fabian Cancellara and Vincenzo Nibali to win Milan - San Remo, reminding us that the strongest rider is not always the best bike racer.
   
   
3. Goss wins a stage at the Giro d'Italia. The season may not have been stellar past then, but a grand tour sprint win is a grant tour sprint win.

Bottom 3 Lowlights