Gerrans to help Wiggins with Grand Tour goal

Simon Gerrans has described his naming in Team Sky’s Tour de France roster as a great feeling, after the rider was forced to miss last year’s race when Cervélo elected to leave the 30-year-old off its roster.

Last year’s snub came as a shock to many including Gerrans, as he’d won his first Tour stage a year earlier and proved his form with a Giro d’Italia stage victory in the lead up to last year’s race.

Having joined a new team in 2010, Gerrans’ return to the Tour also comes with a new set of goals. “I’m very happy to be selected in Team Sky for the Tour de France. The team has put together an excellent group of guys that will play various roles to support team leader Bradley Wiggins,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to be named in such a strong line up. I’m really pleased to be back racing the Tour in 2010.”

Gerrans, who held off a small group to win a Vuelta a España stage last year, says he’ll play a key role in Wiggins’ title bid. Wiggins became a key acquisition for the newly formed Team Sky after he finished fourth at last year’s Tour.

“The major objective of the team will be to assist Bradley with the general classification,” said Gerrans. “I expect to play a key support role, especially in the medium to high mountain stages.”

Gerrans said he was pleased with his form at the recent Tour de Suisse, where he finished inside the top 10 on three stages. “I was satisfied with my performance at Suisse especially in the first trial trial. To perform that well against such a quality field was a great measure of my form,” he said. “It was a tough race with terrible weather and challenging parcours.”

Gerrans will spend the next week mixing recovery with training at his home in Monaco. The 97th Tour de France commenced on July 3 in The Netherlands.