Never one to turn down a challenge, Mudgee’s Ayden Toovey proved he can hold his own against some of the world’s best cyclists in Victoria.
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The Herald Sun Tour – otherwise known as Sun Tour is held over five days and totals a gruelling 588.5 kilometres, the ride attracts riders from around the world.
Ayden spoke to the Mudgee Guardian about his first ‘Sun Tour’ and what it meant to earn the coveted green jersey as a relative newcomer.
“The Herald sun tour was a great success for my team BridgeLane. Along with me getting the sprinters jersey we had two guys in the top 10,” he said.
“Sun tour is a category 2.1 which is one below world tour races such as Cadels and Tour Down Under. However it’s still included 4 world your teams so the level was still high.”
Ayden was presented with the coveted ‘green jersey’ after earning the most sprint points during the entire Sun Tour.
“Notably, he was the only rider from a Non-World Tour team, to win an overall category jersey. The other category jerseys were all won by European based Team Sky,” a Sun Tour spokesperson said in a Facebook message.
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“The sprint jersey is a great achievement for me personally. A good start to the season,” Ayden said.
“Sky weren’t really interested in the jersey ‘till the last day but thankfully my team were awesome and helped me secure the jersey from cycling’s most dominant team,”
“There were points towards the green jersey awarded for sprints out on the road and the finish line. I made sure to collect as many points as possible which proved crucial on the final day.”
Ayden said after the season he’s had, he could barely believe he was standing should-to-shoulder with other professional riders.
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“It felt quite surreal being up there with the worlds best and [it] felt even better after having biggest summer of racing to date.”
This summer Toovey had made appearances riding for BridgeLane, at the 2019 Cycling Australia Road National Championships and more recently his first Tour Down Under in South Australia.
Benjamin Palmer
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
