End of an era: A look back at GreenEdge’s greatest moments
Late last week Aussie team Mitchelton-Scott announced that it had become Team Manuela Fundación. The move caught a lot of people by surprise — including those within the organisation — and many are wondering what the move will mean for the team.
Amid all the confusion about the Manuela Fundación and its mysterious owner, one thing seems clear — the team looks set to lose its Australian identity. Ever since it started racing as GreenEdge Cycling (men’s team) and GreenEdge-AIS (women’s team) in early 2012, the organisation has been “Australia’s team”, with many Australian riders, and Australian title sponsors. Now, it seems almost certain to take on a Spanish flavour.
Apparently a “long-term deal” has been struck with the Manuela Fundación, but what the change of title sponsor means for the team’s future remains to be seen. Regardless of how things shake out, it seems clear that this is the end of an era for the team formerly known as Mitchelton-Scott.
So, as Team Manuela Fundación sets sail into an uncertain future, we thought it was the perfect time to look back at the GreenEdge journey so far and remember some of the most significant moments for both the men’s and women’s team.
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- Baden Cooke was one of several Aussie veterans recruited to GreenEdge in 2012, the squad’s debut season. Also on the list: Robbie McEwen and Stuart O’Grady.
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- Loes Gunnewijk took out Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2012 – a great early win for the women’s team.
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- On the men’s side, Simon Gerrans (newly crowned as Aussie champ) took one of the squad’s biggest-ever wins in March. At Milan-San Remo he got away with Fabian Cancellara and Vincenzo Nibali before winning the sprint. It was arguably the biggest win of his career.
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- Judith Arndt was a star in the 2012 season, winning the Tour of Flanders among other races.
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- On stage 3 of the 2012 Giro, Matt Goss took the team’s first Grand Tour stage win in its first Grand Tour.
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- Tiff Cromwell didn’t just win stage 5 of the 2012 Giro Rosa: she won solo by more than eight and a half minutes.
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- At the 2012 Vuelta a España, Simon Clarke won stage 4 …
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- … and went on to win the KOM jersey.
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- Gerrans rounded out a great 2012 season with victory at the GP de Quebec in Canada.
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- In freezing conditions, Tiff Cromwell won the 2013 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
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- When Judith Arndt retired at the end of 2012, Emma Johansson stepped into the team as a proven race-winner. She won two stages of the Emakumeen Euskal Bira …
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- … and the overall.
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- The 2013 Tour de France was a great one for Orica-GreenEdge. Gerrans (far left) won stage 3 in a bunch sprint (the team’s first TDF stage win) …
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- … and then the team won the TTT the following day …
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- … putting Gerrans into yellow.
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- Impey took over the lead a few days later, becoming the first South African to lead the Tour.
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- Michael Matthews took out a stage of the Vuelta later in the year.
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- Johansson continued her winning ways in 2014, taking out the prestigious one-day race Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
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- Gerrans, again national champion, took his second monument win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
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- Adam Yates, in his first season with the team, won a stage and the overall at the Tour of Turkey.
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- The team won the opening-stage TTT at the 2014 Giro d’Italia …
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- … putting Canadian Svein Tuft into the maglia rosa.
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- The following year, they’d again win the Giro opener …
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- … this time putting Gerrans into pink.
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- The next day Simon Clarke finished second behind solo winner Davide Formolo. He celebrated on the line, thinking he’d won the stage, but he didn’t leave empty-handed: he moved into pink, becoming the third Orica-GreenEdge rider to lead the race in the first week.
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- In what would be her final season with the team, Johansson won Thüringen Rundfahrt (pictured here) and the Lotto Belgium Tour.
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- The 2015 Vuelta would be a good one for the team. Esteban Chaves took two stage wins on his way to fifth overall (the team’s highest ever Grand Tour GC placing to that point) …
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- … while young speedster Caleb Ewan, in his first full season at WorldTour level, took his first Grand Tour stage win beating John Degenkolb and Peter Sagan.
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- The 2016 season saw Gerrans win the Tour Down Under for a fourth and final time.
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- And then in April, Mat Hayman pulled off a stunning coup, winning Paris-Roubaix.
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- It is arguably the biggest result in the team’s eight and a half year history so far.
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- Chaves continued to impress at Grand Tours, winning stage 14 of the Giro.
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- He moved into the overall lead after stage 19 and looked a great chance to win the overall …
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- … but he faltered on stage 20 and dropped to second overall.
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- Chaves’ second at the Giro was the team’s highest Grand Tour placing to that point.
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- Amanda Spratt, who earlier in the year became Aussie champ for the second time, won a stage of the 2016 Thüringen Rundfahrt.
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- Matthews took out stage 10 of the Tour de France beating the likes of Peter Sagan and Edvald Boasson-Hagen.
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- It was his first victory at the world’s biggest race.
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- Adam Yates went on to take the white jersey of best young rider.
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- A couple months later his brother Simon took his first Grand Tour stage win, at the Vuelta.
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- In October, Chaves won Il Lombardia, the men’s team’s fourth Monument victory. If you include Arndt’s 2012 Flanders win, the team has won all five Monuments.
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- The 2017 season started with Amanda Spratt taking the first of three consecutive Tour Down Under victories.
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- Caleb Ewan won a stage of the 2017 Giro …
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- … while later at the women’s Giro d’Italia, Annemiek van Vleuten won two stages and the points classification.
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- Van Vleuten also won La Course solo, atop the Col d’Izoard.
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- No story here; just a shot of perhaps the most photogenic man in cycling.
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- A year after his brother won white at the Tour de France, Simon Yates achieved the same feat in 2017.
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- Simon Yates utterly dominated at the 2018 Giro, winning three stages and leading the race for 13 days.
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- He imploded on the final two mountain stages though, and slipped from the overall lead back to 21st.
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- At the Giro Rosa Van Vleuten demolished the field, winning three stages (including an uphill time trial in the skinsuit of world champion) …
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- … to take the overall by more than four minutes. Spratt finished third overall for good measure.
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- At the 2018 Vuelta, Simon Yates made up for his frustrating Giro, winning a stage …
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- … and ultimately taking out the race overall. It was Mitchelton-Scott’s first Grand Tour victory.
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- Van Vleuten continued her fine form in 2019, winning Strade Bianche solo.
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- After most of a year spent suffering at the hands of Epstein-Barr virus, Chaves took a popular stage win at the 2019 Giro.
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- … and another overall title. Spratt was again third.
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- At the Tour de France, Daryl Impey took an emphatic stage win from a breakaway …
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- … and Simon Yates won two stages. Matteo Trentin also took a win, making it an impressive four stage wins for Mitchelton-Scott.
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- Van Vleuten rounded out the season with a ridiculous, 100 km solo win at the Yorkshire Worlds. Spratt was third to add to a silver medal the year before.
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- Van Vleuten winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earlier this season.
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- The UAE Tour was truncated due to coronavirus, but not before Adam Yates rode to a stage win. He was crowned the overall winner after five of the seven planned stages.
The many guises of GreenEdge Cycling
Men’s team
– January to May 2012: GreenEdge Cycling
– May 2012 to June 2016: Orica-GreenEdge
– June to December 2016: Orica-BikeExchange
– 2017: Orica-Scott
– January 2018 to June 2020: Mitchelton-Scott
– June 2020 onwards: Team Manuela Fundación
Women’s team
– 2012: GreenEdge-AIS
– January 2013 to December 2016: Orica-AIS
– 2017: Orica-Scott
– January 2018 to June 2020: Mitchelton-Scott
– June 2020 onwards: Team Manuela Fundación
