Cameron Wurf has been signed by Team Ineos to replace 38-year-old Vasil Kiryienka just one day after the Belarusian veteran announced his retirement due to cardiac problems.
Wurf (36) is a
top Ironman triathlete, and former pro cyclist, and will make his debut for
Team Ineos at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race this weekend.
While he will
ride for Team Ineos on the road from Sunday for a number of months, he will
then switch back to triathlon later in the year.
He will make that
move back to his main sport in order to prepare for the Ironman World
Championships in Kona, Hawaii, in October.
He was 5th in Kona last year and has a strong connection with Team Ineos as he is coached by the team’s performance coach Tim Kerrison.
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While Australian Wurf is now as old as many retiring pro cyclists, Team Ineos says his Ironman performance continues to get better.
The team
described him as being “on
an upward trajectory” in Ironman having
finish 17th, 9th and 5th at Kona over the past three years.
He is, of course,
no stranger to pro cycling as he rode as a pro for many years before switching
to Ironman.
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He started
his sporting career as a rower and competed for Australia at the 2004 Olympics.
Wurf then
transitioned to professional cycling and rode at WorldTour level for Fuji
Servetto in 2009, Liquigas in 2011 and Cannondale in
2013 and 2014.
After that he took up Ironman in 2016 and soon began being coached by Kerrison.
Tim Kerrison said while Wurf would continue with his
Ironman career he would also be available to fulfill his obligations with Team
Ineos.
"Cameron will be joining the team to continue to
pursue his Ironman career,” Kerrison explained in a team statement.
“The combination of his physical strength and versatility
on the bike, his flexible schedule, and past experience racing at WorldTour
level makes this an interesting and unique proposition for the team and for
Cameron.
"For the first part of the season he will be always
ready and available to race as required, while for the months leading into Kona
his focus will shift back to Ironman, with the aim of improving on last year's
fifth place with the full support of the team.
"For the past three years he has been supported by many of our main sponsors – Pinarello, Kask, Castelli, Fizik - and often trained with our riders.
“He has developed into one of the top performing and most
consistent Ironman triathletes in the world."
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