With a huge Summer of Cycling ahead and everyone from WorldTour teams down are descending on Australia to take on local legends across the next two months, it is time to analyse some of the familiar and new faces that will be appearing at the 2020 Jayco Herald Sun Tour (JHST) and Lexus of Blackburn Women’s Herald Sun Tour (LoBWHST).
Some teams have already laid out expected rosters, while others keep their cards close to their chest depending on form and fitness across a big schedule. The JHST and LoBWHST have the enormous benefit of giving our fans genuine access and wonderful locals stages, with teams relishing the opportunity to mix with the cycling community from bike racing novices to families and die-hard fans.
This year we have returning winners and new additions joining Australia’s oldest stage race, all wanting to be part of the history and heritage that this event offers.
Under the new banner will be American outfit AEVOLO, a UCI Continental line up that is built on ‘passion, promise and professionalism”, with an aspirational program exclusively for riders under 23 years of age. What an opportunity it will be to get to Australia and test their mettle against some of the world’s best. AEVOLO expect to be bringing 6 x USA riders and 1 Canadian rider to the race, all between the ages of 19-22
In the 2019 season they were often on the podium, winning the USA Under-23 Road Race and USA Under-23 Criterium, as well as the Costa Rica Under-23 ITT and the Mexican ITT, and they collected a host of best young rider and most courageous jerseys along the way.
Keep an eye out for the green and gold of the ‘young Americans’ (apologies to David Bowie !) For more visit their website.
Also new to the Tour will be Roxsolt Attaquer. Since its inception as a mixed team in 2013, Roxsolt has won nearly every major race on the Australian summer calendar – the Launceston Cycling Classic, the Shimano Super Criterium, the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits, Australian National Road Championships and Oceania Continental Championships.
2019 represented a break out season for Roxsolt Attaquer with stage and overall victory at the Lexus of Blackburn Bay crits, winning the women’s Melbourne to Warrnambool, winning the National Road Series, finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Victorian Road Series, and a strong USA season with seven wins and 18 trips to the podium.
The flying flouro pink and blue leopard prints will be hard to miss during the LoBWHST and while injury and form can always potentially play a role in selection, this team has gone bold and named a roster that includes some genuine winning potential and some emerging talent.
Emily Herfoss, 11 x national champion Peta Mullens, Masters winner Justine Barrow, Bree Wilson, Veronica Lebedev (new rider for 2020 season), Madeline Wright (new rider for 2020 season) and Emma Chilton.
Expect these girls to be rocking the race! For more visit their website.
Of course it would not be the #Suntour without the might of our home grown Mitchelton-SCOTT, fresh off four stage wins at the Tour de France in 2019 as well as back-to-back titles at the Giro Rosa. This team will again be looking to exert influence over the event, but will have plenty of opposition contenders ready to knock off the WorldTour team and current LoBWHST champions (Lucy Kennedy).
The KordaMentha Real Estate team will don the national colors in both men’s’ and women’s events, with an expected line up that will mix the best rising talent with proven performers. It’s exciting to see the next crop of local heroes who are part of the wider national ambitions.
Other names to keep an eye out for include Kinan (new out of Japan), Team Bridgelane, Tibco-Silicon Valley and Rally UHC (the new home of Chloe Hosking) – these teams have committed and will be looking for wins.
We will continue to profile these and more teams across the coming weeks, giving you some ‘inside info’ before you choose your viewing options for February – so check in across all the tour social media and website platforms.
