Luke Durbridge racing on Saturday in the Bay Cycling Classic, with Patrick Shaw in his wake. Source: Colleen Petch / News Limited
LUKE Durbridge says he is physically and mentally stronger than last year but faces a 24-hour race against the clock to be on the start line in full health to defend his national time trial crown on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old spent December specifically training for the 45km race near Ballarat in a bid to win three consecutive Australian titles.
He will have to overcome a sore throat which saw him miss the final leg of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic on Sunday, but sports director Matt Wilson said that was only precautionary and he would definitely start the time trial.
Earlier this week, Durbridge warned his rivals that he was better trained and better prepared than last year when he claimed the historic time trial/road race double at nationals.
"It's (time trial) a big target for me. I like to train hard in January and it works in well with the Tour Down Under," Durbridge said
"I probably touch the TT bike twice a week, not necessarily long hours or anything like that, but just riding it two times a week.
"I've only done four or five sessions actually hard on the TT bike, the others have been just riding to get into position.
"But I always find you've got to ride the time trial bike because it's a totally different position to your road bike, you're putting out different power and using different muscles.
"I've done some tests with the time trial and seem to be holding up all right, so fingers crossed."
The 45km course for the elite men includes a gradual climb of about 4km with some sections averaging 7 per cent gradient, before a downhill run to the finish at Burrumbeet.
The race will feature a thin but very select field where Durbridge's main threats are expected to come from Garmin-Sharp's Rohan Dennis, his Orica-GreenEDGE teammates Damien Howson and Michael Hepburn and Drapac's Jack Anderson.
Durbridge hasn't diverted far from his trusted approach to pre-season training in Perth in December, then used the Bay Classic series to add an hour of fun to his four-hour training days last week.
"I've used them (Bay Crits) the last two years for preparation," the former under-23 world champion said.
"I've trained a little bit differently this year but you're always going to change it up in some way because you can't keep it stagnant.
"I think I'm in as good a shape as I was last year, probably even a bit better.
"Weight-wise I'm a little bit lighter than last year but I think that's over the season from last year, it seems to carry on."
Last year didn't deliver Durbridge the eight wins his rookie professional season did, but it hardened him to a Grand Tour and taught him that success doesn't mean winning every race he starts.
"The year before I'd won eight races and two tours and winning the (Criterium du) Dauphine time trial and things like that," he said.
"But (last) year if you incorporate two national titles at the start of the year, then finishing my first Grand Tour and top 10 (6th) in the TT at the Giro (d'Italia).
"There were little things I missed out on like getting worlds selection which was a shame, that would have capped it off, but a lot of the races I did were a lot harder than I did the year before.
"Obviously I want to achieve more, I was disappointed in a lot of aspects of last year but that's because you're hard on yourself.
"But if you look back, okay, I did learn a hell of a lot, I raced heaps more and I coped with it, and now I feel a lot stronger for this year.
"It was one of those years you had to have and I'm more confident going into next (season) with my ability and going into a Grand Tour knowing you can finish and mix it with the best guys on your day."
Providing he is fit and healthy, Durbridge said he would put his hand up to attack Sunday's 183.6km road race as the defending champion but would be happy to fill whichever role is asked of him by the Orica-GreenEDGE team.
"Hopefully I can get around for the 18 laps and do as good a job as possible," he said.
"It will be good preparation for doing my job for Tour Down Under as well.
"It's always a tricky one for our team to get selected for (TDU).
"Originally I probably wasn't doing Down Under, then a few things changed and obviously I was focusing on the time trial so they thought 'we need guys in good shape, you'll be focusing for the time trial and if you go off any gauge from last year ...'
"Fingers crossed it's the same and I can be even better help this year. Every time I get to Down Under I seem to run out of steam towards the end of the week so I'm going to try to be a bit better."
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