As the road rose, so did we, as we managed to break tradition and be ever-present in the mountains.




Stage 11 was a time trial. This was a chance for Cam to gain time on the other favourites. But first, Mathieu came out and took a provisional 6th when he went out.


Then, it was Cam's turn. He was able to get an amazing 2nd place, just 37" behind Tejay van Garderen.




Another sprint stage, but Matthew had to come from waaaaay back, and was only good for a circumstantially impressive 6th place.



Another flat stage, but with the break going the distance, there were no trains to follow. Cam was our best in 30th, while Gossy was 34th.




A hilly stage - good news for us. Gerro went with the other 2 main punchers Gilbert and Sagan.


As they caught the breakaway, the former GC leader was unfortunately a bit burned out. it would be his last major appearance at this year's Tour.


Fortunately his sprint was able to gain him some positions.


5th was the final result.




Now we were finally up in the mountains. Mathieu again went with the early attacks.


Cam got in the favourites' group before attacking with Van Garderen and Valverde. He was only able to take 17th tough.




Again Cam was hanging out in the main group. He finished 15th, in a bunch of riders. 11th in the GC at this point.



Another time trial, and this time a mountain one! Cameron was only good for 27th this time though. Really shocking, and also losing a GC place.




Once again Mathieu was active in going with the first guys to attack.


He wasn't up to it, but fortunately Cam was up there once again.


And needing to redeem himself after the day before, he did more than that, joining the first real group.


Unfortunately the finish was just a bit too far away, but our boy still finished a brilliant 8th, and came back into 11th overall.




Cam wasn't with the first guys this time, but he was by no means far back.


Diego Johnson has already started working for our team it seems! He put in a pace which not only caused many riders to drop off the back, but also decreased the gap to those in front.


Cam ended up finishing in the main bunch, getting into the GC Top 10. Just one day to hold it now!




With Kreuziger crashing, Cam had a chance of moving up into 9th. But, Niemiec attacked, and as Kreuziger got back into the group, he might even have dropped into 11th.


Fortunately Van Garderen was there, and he did some nice work.


And again it's someone who isn't even on our team yet who saves the day! We can't wait to have you Diego Johnson! His sprint closed the gap just enough for Cam to keep 10th.



[/
We'd been out of the breakaway for too long. We sent Simon Clarke up there to finish off strong. We gave him one instruction - be first onto the Champs.


Yes! Now to deliver Gossy to the finish line in a good place.


Or not! The break still had a chance of staying away! Simon hopped on the wheel of fellow Aussie Michael Rogers and with TJ Slagter they went away.


Gossy was on Kittel's wheel, but the three up front would contest the victory.


Simon went fastest at the start of the sprint! Could he hold on?!?!?!?!


YEEEESSS! It's the unlikeliest of wins on the unlikeliest of days, but Simon Clarke has done it! We've completed our goal twice in this race, now surely double points!

And so that's our Tour! Most at the Rocking Oger consider us to, all things considered, have been the most impressive team up in France. What do you guys think?

Finally, this sees us climb out of the relegation zone, and with a great margin too! Unfortunately that will also see Mathieu Favre leave the team at the end of the season, with 2 new arrivals already due to a misunderstanding of the rules.

Already our second goal race of the season part. Let's see how it all unfolded in the Basque Country.


Jens Keukeleire joined the break to give us more tactical options and a way not to do work.


Unfortunately Michael missed the favourites. As the break was caught, our hopes of a Top 10 began to fade.


Gerro was in the 3rd group with 10km to go. Therefore he would likely be in the Top 12 and his sprinting skills had us optimistic.

As other riders crossed the line and Simon's group was caught by some other riders, things weren't looking great. But of course the Aufrazian Champion came through and finished in 8th place.

Unfortunately our Eneco Tour wasn't brilliant. Leigh Howard was able to get an 8th place on Stage 3, while Luke Durbridge (pictured above) took 6th on the time trial 5th Stage.


Leigh tried a long range attack on Stage 7 but finished 40th.

A team time trial. Generally we're quite good at these, but unfortunately on the day we were only good for 8th.




Seb went in the break. Jens crashed. Very quiet few stages.




Finally a flat stages. Michael was ready to pounce.


Daryl started his leadout from behind, but we were still looking good for a decent result.


Our main man would start from fourth.


But as soon as Michael was sent through, he started shooting towards the front.


And victory! Michael Matthews took the stage victory! Daryl also finished 6th.




Another flat stage, but we couldn't quite get a good leadout. Michael finished 6th.




Nothing for us technically, but new signing Mitch Birt took a phenomenal stage win.




Great news for us looking forward as Mitch took ANOTHER solo win. Two in a row!




Brilliant stage for us as Allan took 2nd and Michael 4th.




The break was able to last for a while, meaning that our boys started sprinting from further back.

Pieter and Michael could only finish in 15th and 16th.




Another sprint stage (finally). We made a train and looked for another win.


Michael was away with a gap. Could this be it?


No! Stef Clement held on from the breakaway, while our man took 4th on the line.




We made a great train. We seemed a good chance.


Unfortunately there was a true roadblock and our guys couldn't get through.

Daryl finished 7th and Michael 9th.


So, that's the end of the last Grand Tour of the year. Only one stage win, but some valuable points gained.

Unfortunately the race was not televised due to logistical errors, but Aidis Kruopis finished 8th and Matty Goss came through in 15th.



Svein went up in the initial attack to help us in the long term.


Simon, as always, was straight in the attacks. He joined the que.


He then escaped and was off on his way.


Gerrans vs the peloton. Reminiscent of a success on Stage 2 of the Tour.


Unfortunately he was caught by Gilbert. Still a chance though.


But sadly Gerro didn't have the legs. What could he do?


Eventually he came through in 9th. Not ideal, but good nonetheless.



Unfortunately Simon got dropped and our best rider was Luke Durbridge in 54th.

So with the season over, here are the reviews of the races we actually did stuff in.

Tour of Beijing

In a congested sprint, Michael finished 8th.

Tour de Vendee

A good leadout position, but could we fight past the breakaway?


A good sprint from Gossy as he held on for 3rd. A great race for us with Michael in 5th and Aidis in 9th.



Not a great day, but two in the Top 10 with Gerro 6th and Gossy 9th.

Chrono des Nations

Svein shockingly finished 2nd, just 37 seconds away from a hard goal. Durbo also finished equal 4th.

Japan Cup

In his last race for the team, Gorka put in one of the best performances of the season. He went solo for 150km and even after that he was able to help out a lot for our leaders.


Simon was in the main favourites' group but unfortunately it wouldn't be enough for our podium goal.

Absolutely amazing. Gerro, Alba, Daryl and Simon Clarke finishing consecutively in places 5 to 8. Still no goal though, but a good end to the team's season!

Being led by Svein and Durbo, we were pretty disappointing in 6th.




A good day in the saddle for Turbo Durbo meant he finished 2nd, 38" behind North Korean sensation Kim Po-Ding.




Not a good day for the Orica boys with Svein the best in 29th @2'15. Rohan Dennis did well for Australia though, and who know, he might even be riding in our colours next year.



Nope, nothing. Next season's signing Mitch Birt finished 29th.




Gerro was one of the main favourites and did what he does best, attacking on the downhill as we teach him.


He continued following other riders as he stayed towards the front.


He launched his sprint first, which maybe wasn't a great idea. He finished 7th in the same time as Bronze.