Sulzberger brothers have sense of purpose Team: Wes, left, and Bernie Sulzberger. Photo: Drapac Professional Cycling The previous time Wes and Bernie Sulzberger raced as teammates before last weekend's Australian road championships in Buninyong, Victoria - that being in the 2011 Tour Down Under - it went horribly wrong. As UniSA-Australia teammates, the brothers started the tour hoping to set the race alight. However, by stage two from Tailem Bend to Mannum it was over when Bernie crashed inside the last five kilometres and broke his collar bone. "It didn't last long," said Bernie on Saturday as he, Wes and their teammates on the second-division Pro Continental Drapac team prepared for this year's Tour Down Under in South Australia that starts on Tuesday. On Sunday the Tasmanian siblings and the Drapac team will try to make the best of any winning opportunities that arise in the 50km People's Choice Classic in Adelaide for both themselves and their Queensland sprinter Jonathan Cantwell. But it will be from Tuesday, on the hilly roads of the six-day Tour Down Under that is the opening round of the World Tour, when the Sulzbergers will really knuckle down to show their strength. "We have a similar character and riding style," Wes, 27, said. We can also almost go unspoken and know what the other one is thinking with race tactics. That's an advantage. As an example of how effective the brothers can be in a bike race, Wes cites stage two of the Herald-Sun Tour of Victoria to Mansfield in 2007 - the year he also won a world championship silver medal in the men's under-23 road race. Riding on different teams, when they got into a decisive three-man breakaway with German Jorg Ludewig they had no need to utter the slightest whisper of an alliance to get one over Ludewig, who was unaware they were brothers. "We hadn't even spoken and coming into the last corner [before the finish] Bernie let my wheel go and I started my sprint," Wes said. The German didn't know what was going on and I won the stage. But, as teammates in the red and white Drapac strip, pulling the wool over anyone's eyes will be a much harder task next week. But Wes said they and Drapac were up for the challenge of taking on the World Tour teams: "We will be able to get up and take on the big guys. It'll be challenging with the class that is here but we've prepared well. And while Drapac will hunt for stage wins, Bernie said they will also keep an eye on the overall classification, with a number of cards for them to play. "The Corkscrew and Willunga days are general classification days," Bernie, 30, said. Last year I was going pretty well and crashed after the Corkscrew, but I was at the front. I'm going as well as last year now. But myself, or four or five of us can end up there on that climb for overall. Although this is Drapac's first Tour Down Under, the Sulzbergers will bring plenty of experience in the race. It is Wes's seventh start and Bernie's fifth. Add to that Wes's World Tour experience and his inside knowledge into the thinking of the highly fancied Orica-GreenEDGE team led by Australian champion Simon Gerrans. Wes rode for Orica-GreenEDGE from its first year in 2012 to the end of last season when he was told that his contract would not be renewed. Where the future takes the Sulzbergers is uncertain. While Wes believes his World Tour career is not over and Bernie has long been touted as deserving of a crack in the top division, for now both are content to ride the journey that Drapac has begun. "I am pretty happy with Drapac at the moment," Bernie said. You never know ... they are looking at going bigger in the next couple of years. That would be nice, but I am pretty happy racing at this level for now. Wes is grateful to simply have a team to ride for after only learning that Orica-GreenEDGE would not keep him in late October. "It was a difficult time; especially with a lot of teams folding," Wes said. I was lucky Drapac offered me something because I had nothing else.