Becherovka - Kiwibank

Becherovka will be the second PT-team to race the Bay Crits in it's own colours. The half-Kiwi team already had some riders participating at The Bay last year, but now received a wildcard for a "full" entry. Again very good news for the second-year-event: Sam Bewley's Becherovka-team is very welcome!

And there's also a clear mission: Leigh Howard finished 2nd overall behind Sutton last year and of course will aim for the win this time! Now being "maxed", Howard definitely offers a great skill-setup and should be mentioned as one of the very top-favorites!

The question is his support though: four pure TT-specialists (including Becherovka's most favorite Aussie Glenn O'Shea as a guest rider) ain't exactly a perfect leadout, except of Westley Gough, who also raced the Bay Crits last season and finished inside Top-20 in two flat crits. So the Kiwi may be the last man standing for Howard.

Avanti Racing Team (domestic)

Formerly known as Genesys Wealth Advisers (or Huon Salmon), one of the dominating squads in Australia's domestic cycling scene will once again be present in the Bay Crits. Like last year, where the guest riders did very well to score some outstanding results.

So it ain't surprising to see both Lachlan Morton (winner of the Portarlington Crit) and Simon Clarke (3rd overall in 2013) returning to race in the famous blue/orange kits. While Morton will have quite good chances to repeat his victory, Clarke may find himself in a less comfortable position.

His former teammate from Oz Cycling - Damion Drapac - may take the leader's role. Now maxed, Drapac is aiming for a succesfull season in the CT and also hopes do to better than last year's Bay Crits (where he couldn't score a single Top-5)... Jack Haig, by the way, will have his final race in Avanti's colors, so watch out for him.

AnPost - ChainReaction (amateur)

After an Irish National Team participated at the Bay Crits back in 2013, there will be again an Irish selection (riding in AnPost's colors) at the start this year! The squad consists of three riders, who took part a year ago, all looking for better results now.

Sam Bennett in particular: just one of those "now maxed" sprinters, Bennett really has to prove that his 2013 performance was a one-hit-disaster. Eventually, Matthew Brammeier appeared as the stronger sprinter one year ago. If they will find a way to work together plus Peter Hawkins adding his speed, it could actually be a dangerous trio for bunch sprints.

No real threat for the hilly stage though. British "guest rider" Erick Rowsell, who didn't make the GB National Selection this time, may be the most promising, as he finished inside Top-25 on this parcours last season.

Oz Cycling Project

The Oz Cycling Project definitely wants to perform better than they did in last year's Bay Crits (even though the team had some decent single results eventually). The roster though ain't exactly what you may call a bunch of favorites..

But credit where credit is due: Wes Sulzberger (recently acquired from Simply Red Bull) was one of the biggest surprises in last year's event. Scoring three Top-10 results plus finishing 4th overall (and so 2pts better than teammate Ricki Nelson) was a remarkable result.

Also Simon Gerrans did quite well in the hilly crit, finishing as best of the top-favorites and missing the podium/win quite close as 4th.. he won't be stronger this time, though. Sprint-leader will be Anthony Giacoppo, who was Chris Sutton's last man in a strong Risa-train last season. In Australia, he's well known for his crits-skills.. will he shine?

Malaysian National Team

A Malaysian selection will be at the Bay Crits for the second time (after riding in Terrenganu's colors in 2013) and it's again a lineup that could well be in the mix for some decent results. Even though the team struggled to work well in last year's sprints.

Anuar Manan (two 11th places) and Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (two Top-10s) could be strong, but did not really find a way to take advantage of a kinda overpowered sprint-trio last year (together with Awang).. if they do better this year (together with Salleh), we may see a Malaysian stage winner.

Or will we see Mat Senan score this win? He put up a very strong performance in last year's hilly crit as 5th, just behind Gerrans as second-best in a group of top-favorites. So he definitely knows how to race this challenging crit. Watch out for him!

tsmoha wrote:
If there's anyone interested in a specific preview, let me know. I may do a few last ones today before the action begins on weekend

Team UniSA (national selection)

The Team UniSA is back with yet another interesting lineup for the Bay Crits. After riding with free agents one year ago, the team consists of ManGame-team members this time. Will those riders repeat Graeme Brown's huge success from 2013 (4th overall)?

There's definitely a chance to go for a result like that: veteran sprinter Allan Davis still has some good speed (especially on a level like this) and may be a real threat thanks to his ability to survive challenging parcours. He's supported by future-superstar Caleb Ewan, who also knows how to "climb" if needed. A thrilling duo it is anyway: Davis (34 years) and Ewan (20) stay for both Australia's "history" and future.

And there's another "big gun" on the team: Matthew Lloyd (who recently left Australia to join Ewan at Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling) will be one of the top-favorites for the hilly crit. His first appearance at the Bay Crits, Lloyd is supported by Adam Semple, who did quite well last year (14th, supporting Nathan Earle for his 9th place).

OCBC Bank Singapore

A new Asian mixed team will take part at the Bay Crits this year: OCBC Bank lines up with riders from 5 nations across Asia, with only one rider (Awang) racing this Crits Series for the second time.

And it's this Azizulhasni Awang, who may also be the biggest hope for the team to score points. Lacking almost any useful backup stats, this short crits may be the perfect terrain for Awang to go for a win or podium. He struggled to do anything special last year, but did at least score a Top-10 in Queenscliff.

As for the hilly crit, the team will hope for either Gyung Gu Jang or Alex Destribois to achieve a surprising Top-5 or Top-10. Both ain't chanceless to do so, tactics may be the key here. It will definitely be an exciting team to watch, with some new or not yet too prominent faces trying to show themselves.

Budget Forklifts (domestic)

After a quite succesful 2013's edition for one of Australia's most outstanding domestic squads, the team once again will aim for showing it's colors in a good way. One rider from last year will return to ride in the yellow kit.

Ricki Nelson, who remained in the CT after the disbanding of his former team ANC, will return to race the Bay for Budget. After struggling in the two first flat crits last year, Nelson proved his speed in the final event last year, where he finished closed behind Sutton as 2nd. He may at least aim for the overall Top-5 this year.

Behind Nelson, the team lacks some outstanding rider this time (since Wes Sulzberger - 5th overall in 2013 - will ride for his new team Oz Cycling). But it's an interesting lineup with two Kiwis plus the two Aussie talents Patrick Lane and Alex Wohler. The latter spent the last seasons with Team Budget, earning himself a contract with Oz Cycling this year.

Edie Stobart Pro Cycling

The British CT-squad received a wildcard for obvious reasons: with five Aussies on the team, Edie Stobart could well become a fan-favorite at The Bay this year!

An it's also some well known names Down Under, that will try and go for some decent results in the Crits: Nathan Earle (who scored a nice 9th place in the hilly crit riding for Team UniSA last season) and the Van der Ploeg-brothers all had pretty good seasons in Australia's National Road Series in 2013. The Van der Ploegs look like good breakaway riders, so this may be their big chance to go for results.

Other than that, the team may hope for some strong sprints by veteran Mark Renshaw. Though lacking the top speed, Renshaw comes off a pretty good season in the CT and could show some smart tactics in the bunch sprints. Maybe not a serious contender, but someone to watch out for.