ORICA-GreenEDGE is pleased to announce the re-signing of Jens Mouris for an additional season. During his two years with the team, Mouris has cemented his position as a dependable team player who has found a natural home with the Australian organisation.
“I like being in this team, and I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” said Mouris. “I’m obviously really pleased to sign this contract for another year.”
One of a small handful of Dutch riders on the team, Mouris is a good fit with the other personalities that make up ORICA-GreenEDGE’s colourful atmosphere. He sites the laid-back Aussie attitude as pivotal in his decision to stay.
“I have spent a lot of time in Australia during the last decade, and being with ORICA-GreenEDGE has given me an even better excuse to go there for my off-seasons,” noted Mouris. “I like the way Australians do things. It’s a nice balance between professionalism and creating a good, fun environment. That makes the team both focused and relaxed, and I feel at home here.”
A solid and versatile rider, Mouris’s strength are numerous. He is reliable in the tough one-day Classics and contributes fire-power in both the team time trial and sprint train. With such diverse skills, Mouris is a valuable addition to the team across many of the races on the calendar.
“I would say Jens is a rider that’s able to provide crucial support in a number of different scenarios,” said Sport Director Matt White. “His strengths are on the flat roads, in the lead-out train and in the team time trial. With these varied skills, he is useful in so many races.”
Mouris is an important fixture within the ORICA-GreenEDGE Classics team. His individual characteristics allow him to offer crucial support for his teammates. White highlights the important role that a supporting rider assumes in assisting the team to achieve their objectives throughout the season.
“Jens is a rider we need to have in our team to make it function the way it does,” explained White. “He’s very reliable. Jens loves the Classics and the team time trial, and we’re happy to put him to use in these areas.”
Mouris is equally happy to use his strength and experience in the service of his teammates. The role of team helper is one that he embraces, saying it allows him to develop his own skills while contributing to the overall success of the team.
“My role is to help everyone out,” said Mouris. “It’s fair to say that I’m equally focused on the Classics, the time trial and the sprint. I enjoy filling whatever role the team requires from me.”
As a rider carrying out his work so reliably, Mouris has been integral to many of the wins during ORICA-GreenEDGE’s first two seasons on the road. Selecting a highlight from the many successes of the past two years is an understandably difficult process for the Dutch rider.
“I suppose the biggest highlight for me was the first team time trial win in Tirreno-Adriatico last year,” said Mouris. “The Worlds were also pretty cool even though we didn’t end up accomplishing what we set out to do.”
“It was massive for Pieter [Weening] to win the Tour of Poland this year- I wish I could have been a bigger part of that, but I was sick and didn’t make it through the entire race,” added Mouris. “Beyond that, there a lot of different moments during this year’s Giro that stand out, even though the weather was really awful.”
In his next year with the Australian outfit, Mouris sees himself continuing to play a crucial role in the supporting the team’s objectives from the Spring Classics through to the end-of-year World Championships. His objectives are a mixture of team and personal goals, which he will be given the flexibility to pursue.
“I want to do well with the team at the Worlds team time trial again this year,” said Mouris. “We’re hoping to improve on our third place from last year. Going forward, I haven’t looked at next year too specifically yet, but I want to improve my individual time trials and I hope we can get some better results in the sprints.”
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.