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24 Jun 2020
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Aaron Royle says Australia are confident they can hold off the British surge in the finale of the Super League Triathlon eSports Cycling Series.
The men’s Series is poised for a dramatic ending with just three seconds separating Australia, Great Britain and Canada in the General Classification leaderboard heading into the final race on Thursday June 25 (7pm BST).
Zwift’s Watopia course provides six points scoring opportunities but the real focus will be on the finishing times of the top two riders from each team which decides the GC rankings. With $4,000 on offer for the winning team, and a whole lot of national pride, there is much at stake.
Royle, who has been leading the Australian team that head into the final event narrowly atop of the rankings, said:
I am pretty confident. We have shown our class in the last two races. I think we are the only team to have all of our teammates finish in that lead group. I wish it took the times of the top three or four rather than two because we would be dominating. Latest Articles Jonny Brownlee Opens Up About His Life And Career In Candid Interview › Tips For Open Water Swimming: A Beginners Guide › LEHAIR TOPS ‘BEST ATHLETE’ POLL › I am confident. Whoever lines up we have four very strong guys and we have shown our class in the last two races and we can do it again in the third. We have looked at the course and I have raced it a couple of times. It’s a tough course. Three laps with six primes, three sprints and three KOMs. It’s going to be tough. We haven’t worked out exactly how our tactics will play out because with six primes you have to play it carefully. We are all in for GC so we have to make sure we work out how to play it to our best advantage to make sure we get GC and also give us a chance to get those primes as well.
I am pretty confident. We have shown our class in the last two races.
I think we are the only team to have all of our teammates finish in that lead group. I wish it took the times of the top three or four rather than two because we would be dominating.
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I am confident. Whoever lines up we have four very strong guys and we have shown our class in the last two races and we can do it again in the third.
We have looked at the course and I have raced it a couple of times. It’s a tough course. Three laps with six primes, three sprints and three KOMs. It’s going to be tough.
We haven’t worked out exactly how our tactics will play out because with six primes you have to play it carefully.
We are all in for GC so we have to make sure we work out how to play it to our best advantage to make sure we get GC and also give us a chance to get those primes as well.
Australia’s biggest threat is likely to come from the Great Britain team led by double Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee. Royle has plenty of inside info on his rivals. He reckoned:
That Great Britain team is basically the Leeds triathlon team that I trained with for many years and I know them quite well and am still in a What’s App group and we have been speaking after each race. I know they hate to lose. Not just Alistair, but all of them. They are all very competitive. I knew they would come back strong and be a bit more well rehearsed. The first week Australia as a team had it down the best, we were working well together, we knew the rules so making sure you had two with one eye for the GC and the other two going for the primes. For us leading the GC that is our main focus and as captain that has been the tactic I have been portraying to the guys. We want to stay on top and while the primes are a great advantage and we will still go for them, the focus is making sure we have two guys in that GC at the end of the race and we stay top at the end of the race.
That Great Britain team is basically the Leeds triathlon team that I trained with for many years and I know them quite well and am still in a What’s App group and we have been speaking after each race.
I know they hate to lose. Not just Alistair, but all of them. They are all very competitive. I knew they would come back strong and be a bit more well rehearsed.
The first week Australia as a team had it down the best, we were working well together, we knew the rules so making sure you had two with one eye for the GC and the other two going for the primes.
For us leading the GC that is our main focus and as captain that has been the tactic I have been portraying to the guys. We want to stay on top and while the primes are a great advantage and we will still go for them, the focus is making sure we have two guys in that GC at the end of the race and we stay top at the end of the race.
The racing has provided an extra interesting challenge for Royle and his Australian teammates as time differences mean they have to get up at 3am to compete.
The race started at 4.15am our time and I finished it 45 minutes after that. The plan was to do a little spin, have a shower and go back to bed. My fiance, Non Stanford, was asleep in bed so might not have been too happy about it but the same thing happened after the last race. I wanted to go back to bed but I was too wired so I went for a swim instead. I am getting up early but other than training it is my job to race and there is no racing on at the minute so it does suck a little bit having to wake up at 3am to do a race and be put through hell, and you could say I’m insane, but there’s not much else going on so it’s worth it.
The race started at 4.15am our time and I finished it 45 minutes after that. The plan was to do a little spin, have a shower and go back to bed.
My fiance, Non Stanford, was asleep in bed so might not have been too happy about it but the same thing happened after the last race. I wanted to go back to bed but I was too wired so I went for a swim instead.
I am getting up early but other than training it is my job to race and there is no racing on at the minute so it does suck a little bit having to wake up at 3am to do a race and be put through hell, and you could say I’m insane, but there’s not much else going on so it’s worth it.
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