Team members
  
Damian Forster
Damian rode - and won - his first race when he was 4 years old. Nineteen years later, after winning the gruelling Grafton to Inverall road race and finishing 9th in a stage of an Italian classic, he retired from racing at the age of 23. Then, in mid-2004, more than seven years after hanging up his wheels, Damian made a come back, and in his second state-level race he won on fastest time.
"My first race was the 1977 Christmas cake fun race. Mum didn't want me to start until I was 10 but she agreed I could do the Christmas cake fun race, but I kept racing after that, and never missed a week until I was 13."
Damian was the Victorian under 12 road champion, competed in his first national titles at 15, rode the Tour of New Zealand as a 17 year old, then went to Holland to ride for TVM's junior team, Van Schilt, for one year. Back in Australia, he spent a year with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), then returned to Holland in 1993 and rode for Noord Veluwe, racing mainly in Holland, Belgium and Luxemberg.
Damian returned to Australia at the end of 1993 and turned professional, riding for Sports Cover Insurance, then for Giramondo's team. During 1994, he rode the World Pro Road Title in Sicily as a member of the Australian team.
After finishing third in the Australian Road Titles in 1995, Damian was signed by the European team Selle Italia Glacial and spent 1996 racing the Europe circuit. A highlight was the Giro d' Calabria in Southern Italy, where he finished 9th in a stage, ahead of several Tour de France podium riders. Damian's last two races in Australia before retiring were the Grafton to Inverall which he won, and the Melbourne to Warrnambool in which he finished 10th. During 1992-96, Damian rode 35-40,000 km a year.
Seven years after retiring from professional cycling, Damian says he returned to the bike for the camaraderie and fitness, and to give up smoking!
Personal highlights:
- 1996 won the Grafton to Inverall road race
- rode for the overall winner of the 1994 Herald Sun Tour
- fastest time in the 1995 Melbourne to Yarrawonga
- 14th in the Grand Prix d' Industrie & Commerce in Tuscany
- as the youngest rider (aged 20) in the 1993 Herald Sun Tour, was the first up Mt Buller, a 16km climb that is one of the toughest in Australia
- Herald Sun Tour: second in a stage in 1995, in the top 5 in stages in 1996 & 1993, finished in the top 15 overall in 1995 & 1996.
Riding ethos: Damian respects an honest bike rider, someone who doesn't look for the easiest ride, but takes their share of turns at the front.
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