The St. George Conti team was born out of Sydney’s St. George Cycling club, one of the strongest and most successful cycling clubs in Australia. In 2020 it will celebrate its centenary having produced some of Australia’s most talented riders, including Edgar “Dunc” Gray, 2004 dual Olympic Champion Graeme Brown and multiple world record holder and Olympic champion Stephen Wooldridge.
The team was founded in 2015 and St. George Conti brings together this rich racing history with the backing of a team developed from the staff and members of St. George Cycling Club. It aims to provide young athletes with the opportunity to compete at the highest level.
We caught up with Brett Dutton, the team’s Director Sportif who was looking forward to the event going through the high country. “From my end it’s a great opportunity to race in the area that has had many epic Sun Tour stages in the past. It’s some of Australia’s best cycling territory.”
He added, “The race will be won on the big climbing days for sure. You may lose the Tour early if conditions are windy but you will still need to be a top-class climber to win the race.”
Coming off the back of a strong 2019 which saw the team top off the year with three GC wins at the Tour of Thailand, Tour of Quanzhou Bay (China) and Tour of Taihu Lake (China), they also had several young riders take stages wins along with a string of KOM and sprint jersey victories across the season.
One of the riders to always keep an eye on is New South Welshman Ryan Cavanagh, the 24-year-old is the team’s go-to man when the racing gets tough. As a genuine allrounder and one of the toughest riders on the Aussie circuit, he will always have a crack at a long range breakaway in the hunt for glory.
The team’s aim for 2020 is hope to continual improvement and to introduce new riders to the Asian racing circuit.
Rider list
Sebastian Berwick (AUS) In 2019 his best result was 10th on GC at the The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup. He’s s solid young climber and should enjoy the vertical metres in the high country
Ryan Cavanagh (AUS) – All-rounder and break away specialist, with two tour wins in 2019 under his belt. He’s able to work well as an individual or as part of the team, we’d expect him to be the chosen rider for the squad.
Daniel Gandy (AUS) – A solid worker, he’ll be vital to keeping the rest of the team fed and watered throughout the race. The 19 year old rode a string of tours in 2019 and we look forward to him sharing his overseas learnings in front of a local crowd.
Alex Heaney (NZL) – One of the overseas imports for the team, he’s a good all round rider that likes a breakaway and being from New Zealand, he excels in tough conditions.
Connor Reardon (AUS) – An upcomer for the team, Reardon is an improving climber who had success at the recent Tour of Bright, finishing just off the podium in 4th. The 2020 edition of the JHST will be a great opportunity to step up.
Craig Wiggins (AUS) – bringing a strong set legs to the team with a very competitive sprint, his best result in 2019 came at Le Tour de Langkawi with a third place on stage 7.
Joel Yates (NZL) – Another import from across the Tasman and a stage winner 2019 Tour of Guatemala, Yates in a solid all-rounder who’ll be set to chase down breakaways and reel them back in as they pop up.
