Cameron Meyer has been on the cycling radar for a long time for those who follow the sport, and those from Western Australia, but his overall victory in the Tour Down Under has many predicting he will be a giant on the world stage in stage racing.
His form could not have come at a better time for Green Edge the name of the group putting together an Australian Tour De France team. To have such a team race costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and to attract those sponsors you need riders who can perform, Meyer has proved time and time again that he can, but this win has catapulted him up the rankings in the minds of those who matter.
Meyer, hung on to win the race by two seconds against a field of experienced, aggressive sprinters. He started the final stage with only an eight second overall lead on fellow Australian Matt Goss, 10 seconds on Dutchman Laurens ten Dam and 12 seconds on the ACT’s world under-23 road champion, Michael Matthews. Meyer who is not classed as a sprinter faced a huge battle to maintain that lead.
But Meyer, who was last year’s Australian cyclist of the year after winning three world titles on the track and has also been the national road time-trial champion for the past two years, along with the essential support of his team mates at Garmin-Cervelo produced the goods and he held on to win a memorable victory. A victory those in the know predict will be the first of many.
