Bowden Elite Team Series Rounds 1-2-3-4

Avanti Racing is back in style, as Scott Law (riding for team Bowden) dominated the first four rounds of the South Australian Elite Series! The sprinter took out three rounds in a row and obviously leads the provisional rankings. World Tour rider Damien Howson (riding for McNeill) kicked off the eight-rounds series with a victory in the hilly Bowden Kermesse in Adelaide.

Howson broke clear from the bunch in the penultimate lap and former Budget-rider (now Drapac) Timothy Roe couldn't close the gap with his chasing effort in the final few kilometres. Chris Jongewaard (Whippets Wheer) went for a nice third place then.

From Team Budget's point of view, it was still some decent results later on: Luke Davison (riding for Cervelo) and Scott Sunderland (ISC) both collected a couple of podiums, while Davison did better with two runner-ups behind a stunning Law. George Tansley and Russell Gill showed some nice sprints, too. Sunderland will now aim to win at least one of those next three flat criteriums in Adelaide.

Howson attacking in the bell lap.. winning move!

He finished 37 seconds ahead of solo chaser Timmy Roe..

Sunderland's train entering the finishing stretch..

..but Law takes the first race in Adelaide's Victoria Park!

He repeats his victory in on the shor course through the Park..

..and makes it three in Port Adelaide's criterium!

Sunderland finishes 3rd in a tough day with brutal crosswinds!

Law looks set to take the overall victory with already three wins!

Bowden Elite Team Series Rounds 5-6-7-8

Scott Law was nearly unbeatable in the South Australian Elite Series: the sprinter from Avanti added two more victories in the final four rounds and took the overall victory with five wins in total! Unlucky Scott Sunderland came close to a victory, but had to settle for two more second places and the overall runner-up ahead of his new Budget-teammate Luke Davison.

Cameron Bayly took the second Bowden Kermesse in a thrilling three-men sprint ahead of Damien Howson and Miles Scotson! Budget's Glenn O'Shea went for a decent 4th place, while Law kept collecting valuable points - even in this hilly criterium!

Another victory from Law was followed by the only breakaway success, as Nathan Egglestone (amc) took line honours in round seven. Scott "Sundo" Sunderland added minor points in the bunch sprint, but once again got beaten by Scott Law in the final round at Port Adelaide. A narrow loss, but Sunderland did enough to secure himself the second place in the final rankings.

Bayly takes the Bowden Kermesse ahead of Howson!

Edmondson, Sundo, Law and Gill preparing their sprint..

Sunderland looked good, but Law wins again!

A breakaway holding off the bunch on a rainy day in Adelaide..

..and Nathan Egglestone celebrates a huge win for himself!

Launching the final sprint at Port Adelaide..

..and Law does it again, Sundo close runner-up!

Five victories: Scott Law crushed the competition in Adelaide!

Mitchelton Bay Classic Preview

The annual season opener in Australia is ready to be kicked off. The Bay Classic features great names on it's honour roll, such as Robbie McEwen (six overall victories), Mark Renshaw (two), Matt Goss, Allan Davis, Caleb Ewan (two victories) and last year's NRS-winner Brenton Jones (who won't be at the start this year, though).

Four rounds, three flat crits and a hilly circuit through Portarlington. For each round, points are rewarded as follows:

Place	Individuals
1st	12
2nd	10
3rd	8
4th	7
5th	6
6th	5
7th	4
8th	3
9th	2
10th	1

Round 1 - Ritchie Boulevard, Geelong
Round 2 - Eastern Park, Geelong
Round 3 - Portarlington (hilly)
Round 4 - Williamstown

Caleb Ewan	Steele Von Hoff	Alex Edmondson
Cameron Meyer	Greg Henderson	Neil Van der Ploeg
Leigh Howard	Jesse Kerrison	Scott Sunderland

No surprise to see a few Orica riders amongst the top-favorites for both the flat and the hilly crit(s). Future superstar Caleb Ewan should be the man to beat on both terrains. A few more well known names like Alex Edmondson, Greg Henderson or Jesse Kerrison (who joined the BMC Development team this year) may be serious threats though.

Team Budget lines up with a strong sprint squad, which should be led by Scott Sunderland, Luke Davison or strong man Tommy Nankervis. Our goal is to collect points in all three flat crits here. A victory would be outstanding for obvious reasons.

Mitchelton Bay Classic Rounds 1-2

Miles Scotson openend the Bay Classic with a bang, when he broke clear from the pack with less than 5km remaining and sensationally held off Caleb Ewan til the line! A stunning move, but also a quite impressive show from Orica, who had three in the Top-5 of the day. Steele Von Hoff (riding for Avanti here) grabbed the final podium spot, while Team Budget nabbed two points with Tommy Nankervis sprinting for a decent 9th place.

Orice bounced back in style on the second day though: a partly hilly crit through Eastern Park, Geelong. Heavy crosswinds made for a tough day and Orica brought back all breakaway attempts quickly. Von Hoff and a strong Jesse Kerrison came close to a victory, but Ewan nailed it to lung in for line honours. Despite looking good until the final 2kms, our Budget boys suffered from their efforts and missed a Top-10 result eventually.

Scotson fighting to hold off Orica's armada..

..which he did for a spectacular victory on Ritchie Boulevard!

Orica pacing through Eastern Park on second day..

Ewan going past Steele Von Hoff..

..to add another victory to his Bay Classic record!

Mitchelton Bay Classic Rounds 3-4

Caleb Ewan keeps hunting Bay Classic record-winner Robbie McEwen (six titles) and saves his third overall victory in four years! After missing out on major points in the hilly criterium through Portarlington, Ewan once again bounce back in style and took the final crit in Williamstown in fashion. A huge leadout by Leigh Howard was rewarded with an 1-2 for Orica, while Greg Henderson completed the podium. A solid effort from Scott Sunderland, too: his 6th place became his best result at the Bay this year.

Team Budget's biggest news happened on the previous day though: Josh Berry managed to join a 4-men-break with Cameron Fraser, James Mowatt and Pieter Bulling. Thanks to the bunch taking things a bit too easy this time, this group would eventually fight for the victory! Berry played his advantages to perfection, as he pulled back a later move by Fraser to win the sprint from the leading position afterwards! A first group with top-favorites came in four minutes later, while also Glenn O'Shea added a point for Budget. Our first win of the year and a special one for sure. Well done, Josh!

Berry as part of a 4-men-breakaway, nearing the finish..

..and bringing it home from the front: first victory for Budget!

O'Brien, Crome, Haig and Meyer as the first chasing group then..

A great feeling to see Josh Berry on the podium here!

Orica and Budget controlling the final race then..

Ewan easily brought home his second victory this year!

Sunderland sprints for a decent sixth place..

..and Ewan celebrates his third Bay-title after 2013 and 2015!

Australian Road National Championships Preview

The 2016 Road Nats are nearing and we're searching for those, who will wear the famous gold and green stripes for the forthcoming season. The usual business with the profiles: a challenging timetrial and the hilly loop around Buninyong for the road race. Defending champions are:

TT - Michael Hepburn (Orica)
RR - Simon Gerrans (Orica)

Gerrans misses on the startlist this year, as he's suffering from an injury. Hepburn took a narrow timetrial title over Luke Durbridge (4 seconds) last year and aims to repeat this prestigious victory.

TT - Burrumbeet (44km)
RR - Buninyong (176km)

Timetrial	Road Race
Rohan Dennis	Rohan Dennis
Richie Porte	Richie Porte
Luke Durbridge	Simon Clarke
Michael Hepburn	Heinrich Haussler
Damien Howson	Lachlan Norris
Campbell Flakemore	Cadel Evans
Jack Bobridge	Caleb Ewan
Michael Rogers	Mark O'Brien

Cadel Evans will retire soon and this is a perfect chance to end your season in style. Of course there's plenty of talent despite defending road champion Simon Gerrans missing: Orica with several options, BMC with some strong co-leaders like Dennis in particular, Haussler, Hansen, Avanti's premium climber O'Brien or Drapac's best Lachlan Norris. Let's hope for a nice race there.

Team Budget will hope for Jack Bobridge to deliver in both the timetrial and the road race. The team's new captain certainly has the skill setup to compete with those big names and here's some hoping that Bobo will fight for a podium in the timetrial. For the road race, Budget has some other options like Jack Anderson or Brendan Canty.

Australian Road Championships Timetrial

After missing out on the timetrial victory by just four seconds last year, Luke Durbridge delivered big time this season: the specialist rode to an impressive victory, beating Rohan Dennis by 18 seconds. Orica made it two on the podium with Damien Howson holding off other favorites like Richie Porte and defending champion Michael Hepburn.

Tough weather conditions added some spice to the already challenging 44km parcours. An early best time from Howson put some pressure on late starters like Howson, Dennis and Durbridge. Less surprises inside the Top-10, while Team Budget's Jack Bobridge might have hoped for a little bit more than his still solid 7th place ahead of Ben Dyball and Adam Phelan: nothing special, but of course the competition was heavy.

Damien Howson (Orica)

Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts)

Richie Porte (Team Sky)

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing)

Luke Durbridge (Orica)

After missing the title by four seconds last year: Durbo takes it now!

Australian Road Championships Road Race

BMC Racing went for a prestigious 1-2 and made Orica missing a podium in the road race: a less entertaining race saw Rohan Dennis taking the road title ahead of teammate Cadel Evans, while Richie Porte held off four Orica riders to complete the podium. A great victory for Dennis, who had to settle for the runner-up in the timetrial event.

The race began with a breakaway group of three riders going clear right from the start: Tyson Chambers (African Wildlife), Anthony Giacoppo (Avanti) and Tom Robinson (Charter Mason). A few riders like Team Budget's Kristian Juel or Saxon Irvine (Subaru Albion) tried to join them, but they couldn't go clear from the pack.

Instead of those, it was Brodie Talbot (Team Budget), who caught up to the early break with still more than 150km remaining. The allrounder also appeared to be the strongest in this group, that build a lead up to six minutes. Talbot dropped Robinson as the last breakaway companion about 17km before finish and also held on to a small gap on the pack with less than 8km left! Things looked promising..

Only a few riders, led by Cadel Evans, actually tried to attack the bunch and so we saw a less selective race this time: the top-teams almost failed big time, but Talbot got swallowed by a 40-men-group inside the final two kilometres! Tough luck for Team Budget, who still had Jack Anderson doing quite well as 12th ahead of Mulhern and Bobridge..

Talbot joining the early breakaway group..

..and trying to hold off the nearing pack in the bell lap..

..a close one, but Talbot eventually got caught on the finishing stretch!

Rohan Dennis easily sprinting to the road race victory then!

Evans completed a double for BMC. A huge day for the team..