Success at the TTT World Championships
ORICA-GreenEDGE narrowly missed the top step of the podium and a world title in Florence, Italy in the team time trial at the Road World Championships. The Australian outfit settled for the silver medal, an improvement over the bronze they earned in 2012, after stopping the clock .81” slower then repeat team time trial world champions Omega Pharma-QuickStep. Sport Director Matt White was full of praise for his squad that included Brett Lancaster, Daryl Impey, Jens Mouris, Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn and Svein Tuft.
“I can’t complain about how things went today,” said White. “We can’t fault anyone. If we had gone nine-hundredths of a second faster, we would be world champions today.”
“To be so close to winning a world title over an hour effort is a little disappointing,” White admitted. “Sometimes it’s easier to swallow when it’s a bigger margin. We know what it’s like to win by such a small margin, too. We just edged out Quick-Step at the Tour. Today they turned the tables on us.”
In the final team race for the 2013 season, ORICA-AIS time trialed to the bronze medal in Florence, Italy in the team time trial at the Road World Championships. Amanda Spratt, Emma Johansson, Loes Gunnewijk, Melissa Hoskins, Nettie Edmondson and Shara Gillow left it all on the road in pursuit of gold, and while they ultimately fell short of the top step, the sextet was proud of their effort.
“We have to be happy with the result,” said Sport Director Dave McPartland. “The girls got a bronze medal at the World Championships. The most impressive part is they all gave 100%. I can’t sit here and say: ‘What if we had done this? or What if we had done that?’ They all did everything they could.”
ORICA-AIS is pleased to announce the re-signing of Loes Gunnewijk for an additional two seasons. During her initial two year tenure with the Australian outfit, Gunnewijk has emerged as a natural team leader to her younger, less experienced teammates, clearly relishing her role as mentor and road captain.“I’m really happy with the team, so it was an easy decision to make,” said Gunnewijk. “I love the family feeling. I love that everyone on this team knows when it’s time to be serious but also how to relax when it’s time to relax. It’s a good mix of very professional and very fun.
”Gunnewijk was the first non-Australian rider that Sport Director Dave McPartland approached when he was involved in the creation of the women’s team two years ago. He considers Gunnewijk an integral part of the team’s backbone both on and off the bike.
