PureBlack Racing finish 2012 international season with Tour of Tasmania

PureBlack Racing ready to take on the Aussies for the last time in 2012

PureBlack Racing will start their final international tour in Hobart tomorrow when they line up for the first stage of the CAT Underground Mining Tour of Tasmania.

When the tour is over the team would have raced over 90 races outside of New Zealand before heading home to race the local circuit this summer, but not before they have raced 550.8kms across the Southern most part of Australia.

Director Sportif, John “Harry” Harris, says the Tour of Tasmania is a notoriously tough tour but he believes his team is ready for the challenge.

Harris said, “It is recognised as a hard tour, there is a lot of climbing and it is not just a straight out criterium, these stages will be proper road races which are going to suit us more so then what we have been racing in Australia.”

The five-man team racing in the Tour of Tasmania is:

Joshua Aldridge

Taylor Gunman

Dion Smith

Roman van Uden (Captain)

James “Jimmy” Williamson

Harris is excited with the return of two PureBlack Racing riders, Smith and Williamson.

Smith is returning to the PureBlack Racing team after breaking his collarbone during the first day of the Tour of Great South Coast in August and is in excellent form.

Harris said,  “Dion is coming off a third place win in the annual Taupo to Napier race and second in the Wanganui Grand Prix, this is a young guy who is not worried about who he is racing and is just going out there to get the results. This is exactly the attitude we need on this tour.”

Harris is excited about the team he is taking over to Tasmania, “I have the right boys who are ready to come into this tour, and they boys really want it. It is good to have Roman leading again and both Jimmy and Taylor are really pumped to get racing again.”

After missing out on the Tour of Murray, Williamson is showed his desire for wins last weekend when he won round five of the Benchmark Homes Cycling Series in Timaru showing he is in great form for the upcoming tour.

The Tour of Tasmania features nine stages over six days beginning with a 23.1km Team Time Trial in Hobart and finishing with a 51.6km waterfront Kermese in Devonport.

The CAT Underground Mining Tour of Tasmania features 52 sprint premes, 25 KOM premes and has a record field of 153 riders.

For more on the Tour of Tasmania see http://www.caribou.net.au/tour_of_tasmania.html