Simon Gerrans is looking to the world championships in Florence in September, rather than the chances left on the Tour. Photo: Getty Images
One yellow jersey, it is believed, has gone to be washed. The other still bears the sweat stains that represent the effort its wearer needed to claim it.
But dirty or not, those two first Tour de France yellow jerseys claimed by Australian Simon Gerrans on stage four and South African Daryl Impey on stage six, are symbolic of how far the Australian Orica-GreenEDGE team has come in its first two years.
When the Tour finishes in Paris on Sunday night, the Australian team’s success in the first of three weeks of racing will seem a distant memory.
But for Gerrans, Impey, the rest of the team and their staff, the ‘grande arrivee’ onto the Champs Elysees in Paris will signal the moment they can finally celebrate a Tour that has reaped more success than anyone expected – or foresaw after stage one when the team bus was stuck under the finishing arch in Bastia.
For Gerrans, Sunday’s finish will allow him time to reflect on his success – and maybe check just where his yellow jersey is since sending it back to his European base in Monaco. – The Age Sport
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