Oakland, CA - The Tour de Georgia, taking place from April 16 thru 22 marks the return of the "Bull," Nathan O'Neill to the peloton. The eight-time Australian national time trial champion has had his season debut delayed twice now. The first setback came when he sustained a hip injury when he was hit by a car while training in his native Australia just before training camp in January. The second time occurred when the SUV he was riding in was hit and sent out of control while returning from a Tour de Georgia promotional event in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He sustained a deep cut in his left arm, along with bumps and bruises.

"I feel really good," O'Neill said. "Things are checking up pretty nicely. It's strange to be starting the season this late. But I've never been this excited to start racing again, and in particular, I've never been so excited about the Tour de Georgia, either. I'm very motivated, but at the same time, I'm also very calm."

O'Neill's presence also means that Georgia will be the debut of the triple-pronged GC attack that the team put together with the signings of Ryder Hesjedal and Rory Sutherland, to go along with O'Neill.

But O'Neill was cautious about his expectations for his adopted home-state race. "My form is there, but this is my first race of the season," he said. "You never know how the body will react under race conditions, and my race fitness is probably off some. But my weight is down a bit and my power is up, so everything is headed in the right direction. It's taken a long time to get to this point. It'll just be good to put the key in the ignition and get the engine running."

The Georgia squad is nearly identical to the team that won the overall team title at the Redlands Classic at the end of March, with O'Neill taking the place of Russell Downing.

Health Net Presented by Maxxis team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett also noted that O'Neill, Hesjedal and Sutherland weren't the only GC threats the squad is bringing. "Jeff Louder is a solid all-around rider who had a good showing at Redlands," he said.

The team will also be looking for stage wins every day, with Karl Menzies and Kirk O'Bee in particular looking to get into breaks in the hunt for stages.