Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEDGE) earned the points and TDF 100 sprint jerseys on the first stage of Volta a Catalunya. 

Following stage one, he shared his intent to hold onto them until the race finish in Barcelona. That mission was accomplished as the race finished yesterday. With the support of his ORICA-GreenEDGE teammates, Meier heads home to Gerona having earned both jerseys. It is Meier’s second points jersey. His first came in 2009 at Vuelta Pais Vasco.

“Chasing these types of jerseys isn’t always a priority for a team, but they showed faith in me to support my goal. All the guys were keen to help, and I really appreciate that,” Meier said.

Meier earned the bulk of his points in both the points jersey and the TDF 100 jersey competition after spending stages one and two up the road.

“When you look at the intermediate sprint jersey for a smaller race, it’s clear that it’s a jersey for the opportunists,” explained Meier. “The rider that’s willing to go up the road, usually more than once, is the guy that can take it.”

Although Meier had a secure advantage in both competitions following the first two days of racing, he remained attentive to both the intermediate sprints and TDF 100 sprints until the finish.

“I still looked to get points wherever I could,” he explained. “The biggest thing was to keep an eye on the other guys that were close on points and make sure they didn’t get into a breakaway. I also took another one or two points out on the road that were leftover for the Tour sprints on days that only a small escape group was away.”

“For one of the Tour de France 100 sprints, Gerro [Simon Gerrans] led me out in the sprint,” continued Meier. “It’s not that often for me to get a role reversal like that. To have a rider like Gerro looking after my points shows the character of our team. Everyone is willing to do their part to help each other out.”

Meier was thrilled to play an integral role in the team’s Catalunya campaign.

“This was a highly successful week for the team,” said Meier. “At the beginning of the week, I said that if we could take a stage win, we could call the race a success. We obviously did that with Gerro yesterday. We put our mark on the race with the stage win. Brett [Lancaster] mixed it up in the sprints, and Travis [Meyer] had a great day today to finish eighth on the stage. The two jerseys are a big bonus.”