After taking third in Amstel Gold and skipping Wednesday’s Fleche Wallonne, Simon Gerrans returns to racing in tomorrow’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege and is looking for a good result despite admitting that it is not as well suited to him as Amstel Gold was.
"My form is good I think. I've had a few days at home to freshen up and I'm really to go for Sunday. I showed in Amstel though that I'm in pretty good shape so I'm looking forward to Liège now," Gerrans told Cyclingnews from Orica's training base just outside Liège.
"I've not done Flèche for the last few years now and the thinking is that if I'm going pretty deep in Amstel, doing Flèche would then make it hard to go to Liège. I think it's better to do two out of the three but three in a row is tough if you're going for the win all in three."
Despite saying that it doesn’t suit him, the Aussie has been sixth in 2006 and he was tenth last year, showing that he is capable of a good result.
"It probably doesn't suit me as much as Amstel does and I think my results show that. I've been on the podium three times in Amstel and I've been in the top ten in Liège. The route doesn't suit me as well but I feel like I'm in good shape and my form is improving."
Gerrans usually is too tired for Liege but an early season illness prevented him racing in Milan-Sanremo and he was out of sorts in Paris-Nice, meaning that for the first time in a few seasons, he is in the best possible condition for Liege.
"It's impossible to hold your form from January right through until April. The plan is always the back off a little after the racing in Australia. I didn't do that enough in 2012 but I managed to win San Remo but by the Ardennes I was tired. This year, with getting ill and having a turbulent spring it's just held me back that little bit longer and it's probably working out for the better now."
Last Year of the Contract
The 33 year old is in the final year of his contract with Orica GreenEDGE. He has been 100% focused on racing but now he is beginning to turn his attention to whether he will resign with the Australian team that helped him win the Milan-Sanremo as well as a Tour de France stage and 2 Tour Down Under GCs and 2 Australian Road Race titles.
"I'm not a rider who wins 20 races a season," he says in relation to a palmares that also includes stage wins in all three Grand Tours, GP Ouest-France, Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.
"I pick my targets, maybe a couple per year, and in the last few years I've just become more consistent in hitting my mark on the big goals."
Despite the success, Gerrans is still on the market: "at this stage I am in the final year of my contract with Orica GreenEDGE. I've not re-signed yet or anywhere else so I'm currently on the market. We'll start negotiations shortly after the Spring Classics are done."
"There's no question that this is a fantastic team and one where I've had my best results so I'm very happy here. I'm not going to say if I'm going to stay or go, that's very much up in the air and something I'll think about once I get through this period."
A high placing in Liege-Bastogne-Liege would certainly increase Gerrans finances with whoever he chooses to sign with for 2015.
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