Roberts racing at home in Tour Down Under
Saxo Bank | January 16, 2012
Luke Roberts is able to ride to his home and visit friends this week at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. The stage race is part of him, helped him join Saxo Bank and shaped his community.
"Mike Turtur started the race, pioneered Australia's first big event," said Roberts. "Adelaide has seen the race grow from the first year [in 1999] until now: it's on the WorldTour level at the same level of some European races. The fans come out to see it, not just from South Australia, but other states and from other countries."
Roberts starts as part of Saxo Bank's seven-man team. The Tour Down Under kicks off with a pre-race criterium tomorrow and then the classification race starts on Tuesday.
He won the mountain classification last year racing for small Australian team, UniSA. The performance helped him join Saxo Bank a month later.
"Every year there is a highlight. I've only missed three editions. My stage win in 2001 was a big thrill, I finished on the Willunga [mountain] stage a couple of years ago and last year, the mountains jersey.
"UniSA gives the opportunity for some of the young riders to ride with the big teams and it gave me the opportunity to prove I was capable of riding in a WorldTour team."
Saxo Bank will push for more sprint wins this season with Juan José Haedo. Roberts' task is to help him, including in races like Milano-Sanremo. After the Tour Down Under, he will enjoy a couple of extra days in Adelaide before heading to Europe.
Including the previous three years with CSC, 2005 to 2007, this is Roberts' fifth season to race for Bjarne Riis. The 1996 Tour de France winner, put together the team after retirement. He has become known as one of cycling's most tactical team managers.
"The thing I like most about Bjarne is that he treats everyone one of his riders as if he's his own son," continued Roberts. "He spends the time to treat each rider individually, to watch over each rider and to get the best out of him. Bjarne is unique for that.
"Positioning on the bike, diet, pedalling technique, positioning in the bunch... He watches everything and is not afraid to pull a rider aside and tell them where he thinks he can improve."
The team is racing on Specialized's SL4 this year, which Roberts said is "a little bit lighter and stiffer than the SL3."