Team News: Introducing Raleigh’s Lachlan Norris

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Stagiere for HTC-Highroad in 2011, Australian Lachlan Norris is another winner added to Raleigh’s 2013 Squad

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Celebrating his 26th birthday at the Raleigh team launch last week, Lachlan Norris is a former mountain biker who represented Australia for no less than eight years. Born in the Gold mining town of Kalgoorlie (Western Australia ) and now residing in the cycling state of Victoria in Australia, Norris was a stagiere for HTC-Highroad in 2011 which says a lot about his potential.

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In 2012, Norris won the Tour of Tasmania, one of Australia’s top stage races, beating 2013 Raleigh teammate Mark O’Brien into second place and both riders are seemingly capable of helping give Raleigh more options in winning bike races here in Britain and abroad.

Team Raleigh’s management see the Aussie as a rider who can strengthen the team for road races but Lachlan’s win on stage 1 of the Goulburn To Sydney , a criterium, showed he can do a mean crit as well.

The Goulburn To Sydney is a race that dates back to 1902 and is as much a classic in Australian cycling folklore as the Lincoln GP is in Britain. Richard Lang, who also signed for Raleigh in 2013 after riding for the men in black in 2012 (RCS), is a former winner and after having finished third in the race during the 70’s, I can vouch for the importance of Lachlan’s win of a stage in that event.

Lachlan is one of eight Raleigh riders entered for the French semi Classic, ‘Haut Var’ in February and won in 2012 by Jon Locke of Endura Racing. Speaking to VeloUK, Lachlan explained how he’s only ever raced mountain bikes in the UK and knows the likes of Oli Beckingsale (Endura) from his time racing off road.

“This will be a totally new experience for me” he says adding that the only road racing he’s done is in Europe and Ireland. One can only wonder if he will have the same impact a certain Jack Bauer, also a former mountain biker from the other side of the world, had on racing in Britain and now races with Garmin.

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Team Raleigh 2013 – click here for the launch feature

Asked the same question I get asked many times and why come to Britain, Lachlan explained “I really want to improve myself as a GC rider and climbing particularly. Some of these races in France will really suit me and I hope I can get some good results on the board and learn from the other guys in the team where there’s a fair bit of experience like Alex (Blain)and Eric (Berthou) who have raced these events.”

With only four riders remaining from the class of 2012, Team Raleigh is almost all new and Lachlan says it’s going to be a challenge as well as exciting to gel together and get the results the team is looking for. Asked if the cold and wet was a worry for a rider from much warmer climates, Lachlan replied “I’m not worried too much about the climate because wherever you go in Europe, you can have good and bad weather. It’s not always rosy back home!”

Lachlan and most of the other Aussies in Team Raleigh have been working hard preparing for the trip to Britain, getting a ‘penthouse’ together in Derbyshire and that has been a lot of fun says Lachlan as they all get on well together which can only help the team on the road.

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Four of the Aussies in Team Raleigh 2013, Mark O’Brien, Sam Witmitz, Lachlan Norris and Richard Lang.

In the recent Sun Tour in Australia, Lachlan was 15th overall in the same team as the overall winner and then 14th in the Aussie Nationals, finishing in a select group packed with Aussie World Tour riders along with Zak Dempster of (NetApp-Endura).

Zak who has had such success in Britain riding for British teams including Endura Racing has helped riders like Lachlan with the necessary contacts in the UK. “He’s a good guy to listen to” says Lachlan “and Lappers (Darren Lapthorne) and those who have come to the UK have been good to bounce stuff off and they have given us an idea of what to expect.”

Lachlan and the rest of the Raleigh team are in Majorca on a training camp at the moment before embarking on a continental racing program as well as some races here in Britain. More on their new riders soon on VeloUK.net

2013 Team Raleigh Lineup

Graham Briggs
Matt Holmes
Evan Oliphant
Russell Hampton
Richard Lang – Australia
Mark Christian
Tom Moses
Lachlan Norris – Australia
Sam Witmitz – Australia
Mark O’Brien – Australia
Alexandre Blain – France
Rob Britton – Canada
Tom Scully – New Zealand
Eric Berthou of France

 

 

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