![\"ccs-41808-0-12621800-1383732008.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-41808-0-12621800-1383732008.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nImage credit: Graham Watson<\/span><\/p>\n Impey\u2019s breakthrough season was followed by a second hugely successful year that included stage victories at Bayern-Rundfahrt and Vuelta al Pais Vasco and a starring role in the team\u2019s stunning performances during the first week of the Tour. Impey led out Simon Gerrans for the win on stage three of the Tour de France and played a crucial role in the team\u2019s time trial win in Nice that put Gerrans in yellow, Most memorably, Impey benefited from a touching display of \u201cmatesmanship\u201d when Gerrans slipped back in the bunch to pass along the yellow jersey to his teammate, roommate and friend.<\/p>\n \u201cTo make the Tour team during the first year was really special,\u201d said Impey. \u201cThis year with the yellow jersey and the stage wins and everything that came along with it was even more special. When Simon and I realised that we could both wear the yellow jersey, that we could share it \u2013 and that we actually pulled it off \u2013 that was the biggest highlight of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything about these past two years has been incredible,\u201d Impey continued. \u201cThe riders, the staff and the management are all so supportive. The way we lift each other up to lift the whole level of the team has made this team what it is today. We started from scratch with the attitude that this team isn\u2019t just about one or two individuals. One rider is just as important as the next. We\u2019ve stayed true to that idea, and look at what we\u2019ve accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n While Impey has clearly made huge strides over the last two years, Sport Director Matt White is convinced that the best is yet to come from their prot\u00e9g\u00e9. Much has been made of Impey\u2019s ability to help his teammates secure major victories, White looks forward to giving Impey more opportunities for personal success.<\/p>\n \u201cDaryl is an invaluable member of our team,\u201d said White. \u201cHe has gone to another level since he joined us two years ago. He has proven that he\u2019s a super teammate and that he is critical to the team\u2019s overall success. We\u2019ve seen that repeatedly over the past two years. He\u2019s been a part of most of our biggest wins – Gossy\u2019s win at the Giro, Gerro\u2019s win at the Tour, the team time trial win at the Tour and second place at Worlds. He\u2019s a very versatile rider that we can use in a lot of different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re going to see him improve a lot more over the next three years,\u201d White added. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen him win some great races over the last two years, but we know he\u2019s capable of even bigger wins. We\u2019re certainly going to give him more opportunity to show that over the next thee years.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the team\u2019s confidence in him and the promise of bigger things on the horizon, Impey remains amazingly grounded. Answering questions about his objectives for next year he talks about \u201cif he makes the Tour team.\u201d His humility goes hand-in-hand with his hard work.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t become a race winner or race leader without doing the dirty work,\u201d said Impey. \u201cI\u2019ve learned how to look after the big riders and shoulder responsibility to my teammates and myself. This team gives everyone a chance, but they also keep me on my toes. Nothing is guaranteed.<\/p>\n \u201cThink about it this way \u2013 I took someone else\u2019s spot when I was put in the Tour team two years ago,\u201d Impey added. \u201cIf I took someone\u2019s spot, one of the new guys or younger guys could take mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Impey expects a similar programme to the past two years. He hopes to peak in the spring and return to top form again in July. \u201cMy progamme will mostly stay the same as it was last year,\u201d said Impey. \u201cI\u2019ll fly out to Australia next month. After that, it\u2019s Oman and Tirreno. The biggest goals in the first half of the season are Milan San Remo and Amstel Gold.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m most looking forward to the Tour de France,\u201d said Impey. \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest race of the season for the team. I\u2019m really hoping to make selection and go back to the race to repeat some of the success we had this year. It\u2019s hard to do, but it\u2019s always nice to have a big challenge. I think we\u2019re all looking forward to reaching for the stars again.\u201d<\/p>\n Impey has repeatedly extended his gratitude to the team for the lifeline they threw him two years ago. His recruitment to GreenEDGE came at a pivotal point in his career. Until joining Australia\u2019s first WorldTour team, Impey was an under-rated all-rounder known more for his horrific crash at the Tour of Turkey and troubled seasons with teams tainted by financial woe than his raw strength, unflappable nature and limitless potential.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to say a massive thank you to the team for the last two years,\u201d said Impey. \u201cIt\u2019s an easy decision to be part of a team that is so giving and so appreciative of what you do for the team. In the same vein, I\u2019m really thankful to everyone involved with the team \u2013 the riders, the staff, the management and all our sponsors. To have a major backer like Gerry [Ryan], who puts in so much effort and time along with money, is huge. We\u2019re really lucky to have Gerry and [General Manager] Shayne [bannan] committed to building such a successful, professional and fun team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ORICA-GreenEDGE is thrilled to announce that Daryl Impey has rejoined the team on a three year contract. The first South African to wear the yellow jersey has flourished during his two year tenure with the Australian outfit. In 2012, Impey earned his first WorldTour win, made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d\u2019Italia and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[402,4517],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-21453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-daryl-impey","tag-orica-greenedge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21453"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=21453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}