PARIS, Jan 17, 2012 (AFP) – World road race champion Mark Cavendish will
begin his 2012 season at the Tour of Qatar, staged between February 5-10, his
Sky team announced Tuesday.
The Manx Missile, a winner of two stages at the event in 2009, will be
joined in an eight-man squad by Davide Apollonio, Michael Barry, Juan Antonio
Flecha, Jeremy Hunt, Ian Stannard and Christian Knees as well as Bernhard
Eisel, who followed Cavendish to the British outfit in October.
Cavendish will also take part in the Tour of Oman, scheduled to take place
from February 14-19.
Meanwhile, triple Olympic gold medalist Bradley Wiggins will get his
campaign underway at the Tour of the Algarve, held in Portugal from February
15-19.
Chris Froome, who finished second at last year’s Tour of Spain equaling
the highest-placed finish for a British rider in a major Tour, will kick off
his year at the Tour of Majorca, slated to take place between February 5-9.