HTC-Highroad will be starting the Tour of Britain tomorrow as the defending champions, in what is to be one of its final races in the peloton. Having won the last two editions of the race, the American squad is sending a strong team, spearheaded by the world’s top sprinter Mark Cavendish.
“We're expecting a lot of bunch sprint finishes in Britain," said sport director Brian Holm, "So we've got some good sprinters here like Mark [Cavendish], Renshaw and Rasmussen."
“We've got options for the GC as well, I expect to see Lars Bak and Matt Brammeier in contention. With these smaller races it's not too complicated as far as strategy. If we can get a few riders away in a break on the hilly stages, then we'll do so. And the rest will try to keep control."
Cavendish is heading to the race after pulling out of the Vuelta a España early on. He’s aiming to become world champion this year and after his unscheduled stop in Spain, he has been training hard with fellow Briton David Millar in Girona. A stage win or two in Britain would boost both his morale and his build-up for the worlds in Copenhagen. It takes place one week after the end of the British event.
The most successful team in cycling in terms of race wins will cease to exist after this season. Together with the woman’s team, they currently have a total of 497 wins since 2008 and are hoping to make it to 500 before the end of the season.
“We were very successful last year, and we've learned the value of fielding solid time triallists at this race. We should be pretty well equipped for each stage," said Holm.
“Cavendish is particularly motivated to perform on his home soil, but all of our squad this year is eager to keep the title. We are very close to the five hundred wins mark since 2008, and we hope to reach it here in Britain."
According to reports, most of the riders on the team have found employment elsewhere for next year with the exception of one or two who are still in negotiations.
In an interview with VeloNation coming today, Mark Renshaw speaks of his move to Rabobank where he will go as one of the main sprinters on the team. He is known as the best leadout man in the business and the Tour of Britain will be one of the last chances he’ll be seen leading out Cavendish in a bunch sprint.
HTC-Highroad for the Tour of Britain: Lars Bak [Den] Matt Brammeier [Ire] Mark Cavendish [GB] Bernhard Eisel [Aut] Alex Rasmussen [Den] Mark Renshaw [Aus]
Coming soon: details of how you can win a HTC jersey signed by last year's winning Tour of Britain team..