Arguably one of the country’s best domestic teams, it’s fantastic to see the squad lining up again for the 2020 edition of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour this February.
Founded in 2011, the team has risen up through the National Road Series ranks to develop some of the best current and emerging talent.
Five year member of the team, Kate Perry is known to push the pace on the front and make it a tough day out for everyone, sometimes resulting in her heading off on a solo race of her own. With a great climbing ability, she’ll be there with the best and is a chance for a podium.
An exciting addition to their line up for this year’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour is a rider better known for her prowess on the mountain bike, Holly Harris. The 24-year-old is the current Australian XC Marathon MTB Champion, making her a very strong climber and she will be able to animate the bunch on the mountainous final stage, which features 1500 metres of climbing over a punchy 75km course.
Team media spokesperson Melita Van Steel echoed this sentiment. And is looking forward to again being part of the Tour, now in its third year. “With the change of scenery and heading to the Victorian alpine region, we are excited for the typical fast racing you can expect during the Australian summer. Stage 1 around Shepparton is going to be flat and fast, but it will be stage 2 on Falls Creek which will make for an interesting and exciting day.”
She added, “2020 is set to be a big year for everyone. We’d like to continue the success we had last year and build on that. We also have a couple of new faces that have joined us, so we are excited for them to get a taste of racing with the team and see what success we can achieve.”
Being an Australian based team, they will have a leg up on their European counterparts, as the intense February heat always favours the riders who train, race and ride in it every day. The mercury in February routinely sit around the 40 degree mark, so we won’t be surprised to see one or two riders using this to their advantage and break away.
Rider list
Jaime Gunning – She started her journey to road racing in triathlon before making the switch in her teens. The 21-year-olds career, while relatively short, has been punctuated with competitive performances at the highest levels or racing. She’s represented Australia on the world stage at the Doha Junior Road World Championships, placed sixth on GC at the Santos Tour Down Under, and finished 10th on GC in 2019 at our race.
Kate Perry – A Melbourne local, she is always mixing it up there with the best of them. A member of the team for the last five years, Kate Perry has been consistent in her performances both domestically and internationally. Her career so far has been punctuated by a number of domestic Tour wins, and helping the team to an overall National Road Series victory in 2018.
Holly Harris – A reformed mountain biker and a relative newcomer to the team and to road racing, she’ll be keen to show off her ability to climb, in particular on stage two. Hailing from Guyra, NSW this rider has represented Australia on her mountain bike at XC and Marathon, and is the current Australian XC Marathon Champion. She is also part owner of a bike shop in Armidale.
Taryn Heather – A strong mentor on the bike to the other women on the team, Heather also has a double degree in Exercise Science and Psychology and postgraduate studies in Psychology, and currently works for the Department of Education as a Psychologist. She
will work tirelessly to chase down a breakaway and set a rider up for the finale and after all of that you can count on her finishing with a respectable result herself!
Ella Bloor – Now in her fourth year with SWR, Ella brings a positive vibe and good time to the team, but is also a bloody hard worker on the bike. Her love for two wheels came when she swapped horse trails for single trails where she went on to win the Australian National MTB Series in 2010. A decade on, is giving the women’s peloton a run for their money on skinny tyres and Tarmac.
Lizzie Stannard – Her first year with the SPWR team after a 2019 season with Gusto StepFWD KOM, Stannard is keen to make her name known in amongst the professional ranks. Originally from New Zealand but now Melbourne based, the 22-year-old’s career has been punctuated with top-20 finishes at the Santos Tour Down Under and the Lexus of Blackburn Women’s Herald Sun Tour.
Briony Mattocks – Briony started riding as an everyday commuter to and from work. After winning the heralded Commuter Cup in 2013, she started racing mountain bikes before making the switch to road racing. With her background in mountain bikes, she’ll be able to pull her teammates up the hills around Falls Creek.
Matilda Raynolds – Raynolds has tried her hand at a number of sports including NRL, softball, hockey, cricket and athletics. She found her way to road racing via triathlon at age 29, where she has emerged as one of the strongest female sprinters in the peloton, she will be a podium chance if the stage finishes with a bunch kick.
Ashlee Jones – Jones started on the track at age 12 which taught her the fundamentals of close-quarter and fast bike racing. Representing Australia at the 2019 Junior Track World Championship in Germany. The 18 year old has her sights set on becoming part of the Australian Cycling Team squad on the track and balances her time with a science degree at uni.
