Cycling Australia has announced their seven man UniSA-Australia team, which will be hungry for success at the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under. The riders are coming in top form after racing at last weekend’s National Road Championships.

Minister for Tourism Leon Bignell says he is looking forward to seeing the UniSA-Australia team in action.

“The Uni-SA Australia team offers a great opportunity for young Australian cyclists to complete against some of the world’s best cyclists in their own country,” said the Minister for Tourism.

Headlining the team is young gun Caleb Ewan, who won his second U23 national criterium crown last week. Ewan had a breakthrough year in 2013 with the Jayco-AIS World Tour Academy team, picking up seven wins in Europe and placing fourth in the under 23 road race at the UCI World Championship in Florence.

Joining Caleb will be fellow Jayco-AIS WTA alumni Campbell Flakemore and Bradley Linfield. Completing the roster are Avanti Pro Cycling Team riders Jack Haig, Mark O’Brien, Anthony Giacoppo and Neil Van Der Ploeg.

Cycling Australia, National Performance Director, Kevin Tabotta, says this is a fantastic opportunity for seven emerging young Australian riders to showcase their talents on the WorldTour stage.

“We’ve selected a mix of riders to target general classification (GC) and stage results and expect each of them to acquit themselves well against the world class field.

“We’ll certainly be looking for Caleb Ewan to take the strong form he showed at the MARS National Road Championships into the TDU and beyond this season,” said Tabotta.

University of South Australia Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd says the University is proud to support this group of young riders.

“We know that getting a ride with Team UniSA-Australia is a dream come true for many young riders and in the past 13 years many of the team’s riders have gone onto success at the highest level,” said Professor Lloyd.

“Our TDU sponsorship is a great fit for UniSA – it brings the best of international talent to our community while showcasing our local environment to the world.

“At the same time the Tour helps promote healthy lifestyles and, as the biggest health educator in the State, we are proud to support this event.

The UniSA-Australia team competing at the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under will be led by manager Dave Saunders and includes:

Caleb Ewan, Jack Haig, Mark O’Brien, Anthony Giacoppo, Neil Van Der Ploeg, Campbell Flakemore and Bradley Linefield.