If the presence of a younger Australian like Sebastian Berwick within the line-up of the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA workforce on the Volta a Catalunya is eye-catching, it’s not simply because at 24 the rider from Brisbane already generated lots of curiosity for his climbing and GC potential in lower-category UCI races just like the Alsace Tour and Alps Isère.
Berwick can be simply the second Australian ever to be a part of the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA workforce in its present format. This primary – as likelihood would have it – was Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech), the winner of the opening stage of this 12 months’s Volta a Catalunya, who raced with the Spanish workforce in 2017 and 2018.
Again within the late Eighties, top-level Aussie domestique Neil Stephens, now a sports activities director at Bahrain Victorious, additionally did a season’s stint with Caja Rural earlier than the Spanish financial savings financial institution give up sponsoring professional biking for over a decade. Since they started backing a professional squad once more in 2010, overseas racers of the calibre of Hugh Carthy and Michal Kwiatkowski have additionally reduce their skilled tooth with the workforce.
Berwick involves the workforce after three years at Israel-Premier Tech, and a troublesome winter because of sickness. Nonetheless, he says he’s immensely having fun with each taking a path much less travelled, for Australians no less than, at Caja Rural and steadily constructing his kind in the direction of the squad’s first massive purpose of the season, Itzulia-Basque Nation
“The workforce’s actually good, all people’s good, there aren’t any egos, so it’s all good in the intervening time,” Berwick instructed Cyclingnews at stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya. “I’m solely actually entering into the racing now, however day-after-day I’m getting higher. I’ve acquired Basque Nation arising so hopefully this week will actually get me into it.”
Requested about how his departure from Israel-Premier Tech ended up with him signing for Caja Rural, he says merely that, “I suppose it’s simply the brutal world of biking,’cos I used to be struggling somewhat bit. However they helped me out and gave me a contract and all the pieces and I’m actually grateful for that.”
Israel-Premier Tech and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA are each within the Professional Workforce class, but it surely’s truthful to say the previous are much more high-profile than the latter. Nevertheless as Berwick sees it, he’ll get his probabilities to shine within the Spanish workforce, regardless.
“I knew all the plain issues coming into it, price range performs an enormous position in it, and all the pieces you’d think about can be totally different, is totally different. So it’s not a shock I suppose.”
“I’ve acquired a very good race program, so I’m actually blissful about that and hopefully I’ll get lots of alternatives, breakaways as you say, and perhaps after I get higher kind I can go for GC in some races as nicely.”
As a resident of Andorra when in Europe, he’s acquired no issues attending to the place the workforce are based mostly in Pamplona, Spain, and in terms of racing, his goals are additionally within the north of the nation, too, he mentioned. Moreover, driving for a squad with such deep biking roots has its personal particular attraction as nicely.
“It’s actually tremendous cool to see a sponsor keep round for thus a few years, too, that’s good to see as nicely.”
“And Itzulia is a giant purpose, significantly once we haven’t acquired the Vuelta a España” – this 12 months the workforce missed out on a wildcard – “in order that’s super-big for the workforce and a key a part of the 12 months now.”
If Berwick’s form-building leads him to be in high situation for the six-day Basque race, no person within the workforce can have any goal. However extra importantly, maybe, at Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Berwick now has a contemporary likelihood to point out his potential all through the entire season and in every kind of races.
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