Australian time trial champion Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) got a stunning European debut with an overall 7th place in last year's Driedaagse de Panne-Koksijde. This year he returns with a firm ambition of improving that performance.

Luke Durbridge had planned to have a first professional year with limited road racing as he was firmly focused on pushing his way into the Australian squad for the team pursuit at the London Olympics.

Just prior to the world championships, he was told by selectors that his Olympic dream would be difficult to realize. He changed his plans and took aim at a difficult European debut in the short stage race Driedaagse van de Panne.

With the final time trial often crucial in determining the final overall GC, he made use of his talents in that discipline to secure an impressive 7th place in his first race at the highest level.

With strong time trials also behind his overall victories in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe and the Tour du Poitou-Charentes later in the year, he has made shorter stage races with a crucial race against the clock and no high mountains his specialty. It is thus no surprise that he targets overall victory in this year's edition of the Driedaagse van de Panne which starts today.

"This is a very tough tour," he explained. "It’s not a WorldTour event, so for those that don’t follow cycling closely, it might not be on their radar but within the peloton, De Panne is known as a brutal race. It’s preparation for upcoming classics. A lot of the guys here are the guys who raced Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke and Gent Wevelgem this past week. Chava (Sylvain Chavanel, ed.) won the overall last year, which says a lot about to who this race is best suited."

The weather to play a major role

Last year, the inexperienced Durbridge was greatly helped by a sunny edition with little wind which made it difficult to create any selection prior to the final time trial. With a hilly opening stage in the Flemish Ardennes and strong wind forecasted, a high overall placing this year will require much more than a strong time trial. The former U23 world champion is fully aware of the dramatic effect the weather can on the race.

"The European spring weather has been fairly brutal. I haven’t dared looked at the weather forecast yet but know that we don’t expect temperatures above 3°C for any of three days of racing. I suspect this year’s race will be a lot windier than last year. Some of our stages start on the coast, so the wind could definitely play a role. We’ll take it day by day. Everybody has to deal with the same conditions."

The race often plays out as an elimination race with the final time trial deciding the GC among the remaining contenders. Durbridge hopes to be able to keep his options open until Thursday afternoon.

"Personally, I will look to stay with the front group for as long as possible and keep any time lost to a minimum. I would expect a group of 40 or 50 strong to finish together on the road stages, and it requires a big effort to ensure that I’m with that group every day. I rode into seventh last year on the overall, and I want to put myself higher up this year."

Experienced team

He knows that the battle for position and strong crosswinds often play an important role in the race and that experience is a key factor. As a young rider, he will use veteran teammates like Stuart O'Grady, Jens Mouris, Tomas Vaitkus and Baden Cooke to make up for his own lack of insight into the type of racing.

" I’m still quite new to this style of racing, so while other teams might be on the hunt for the time bonuses on offer during the road stage, I’ll look to conserve energy as much as possible," he said. "My teammates will provide support in terms of positioning. That’s not to say I’m going into this race thinking that as long as I win the time trial that’s all I need to do for a good overall. I know I need to keep myself up there, follow the right wheels and focus on the front. That said, the time trial is my strength, and I hope I can use it to improve my overall position after the three road stages."

With the final day split into a morning road stage and the afternoon time trial, the race against the clock plays out under special circumstances. Durbridge hopes for an easy ride in the morning to be ready for the big showdown.

" The race ends with a double day of racing. There is a short morning road stage followed by an afternoon time trial. It’s impossible to stay fresh for the time trial. The objective is to conserve whenever I can in the morning, eat well all day and hope for the easiest as possible morning session. I won’t think about the time trial until the time trial rolls around."

A number of options

Last year, Svein Tuft ended up 4th, and he had targeted the race again this year, but the Canadian time trial champion is sick and will not be on the start line. Even in the absence of Tuft, Durbridge will, however, not be the team's sole GC rider.

"It’s a bit of a shame that Svein is sick after finishing top five here last year," Dubridge said. "The general classification hadn’t necessarily been our objective, but we had the opportunity to go for it, so we did. This year, it’s no secret that we’re focused on the overall. The final stage time trial suits us. We’ll hope to start the last stage with as many riders in contention as possible. I’m not the only one who can ride a good TT – there’s also Jens Mouris, Tomas Vaitkus and Michael Hepburn. All four of us are capable of a good result."

The GC will not be team's only objective in the race. With the second and third stages often ending in bunch kicks, the team also lines up with a two-pronged sprint attack.

"Leigh Howard has shown that he has some handy form at the moment to finish with the peloton in Dwars door Vlaanderen and Gent Wevelgem," Dubridge explained. "We’ll set up the first two stages for him.  Aidis Kruopis might be another rider for the sprints, but he was sick last week, and I don’t know if his form has come up since his illness. We’ll assess during the first stage, but it’s nice to have two potential cards to play."

The race starts today with a 200km stage from Middelkerke to Zottegem which passes through the Flemish Ardennes and contains no less than 13 of the short, steep climbs typical for Flemish racing.

Starting today at 14.45, you can follow all the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live. Until then, you can prepare by studying our preview.

Orica-GreenEdge for the Driedaagse van de Panne

Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn, Tomas Vaitkus, Jens Mouris, Leigh Howard, Aidis Kruopis, Baden Cooke and Stuart O'Grady