THE WORLD’S sports media looks set to target Mark Cavendish once again after the Manx rider came under fire before the start of his 2011 cycling season tomorrow (Tuesday) in Australia.
Cavendish, well known for his outspoken comments in recent years, came under fire from a barrage of questions at a press conference in Adelaide where the Santos Tour Down Under begins with stages all over South Australia in the coming week.
Reporters tried to goad Cavendish into making controversial remarks about his former HTC Highroad team mate German rider Andre Greipel, but the Manxman continued to deflect attention away from the forthcoming clash between the two which the media has predicted will result in fireworks.
Instead, to the frustration of the reporters, Cavendish used his sense of humour and was reported as saying at the weekend that he and Greipel were "actually lovers''!
He added, "There are some great bike riders here. There are some great sprinters here. I'm excited to be racing again.''
Cavendish joins a collection of sprinters for the opening Tour of the year which is the best ever seen in the Australian event. He said that his HTC Highroad team has three men all in with a chance of dominating the helter-skelter sprints which are a traditional feature of the annual tour.
"We've got an entire group of guys who are in form and motivated," he said. "We've got three fast guys here and they're all diverse. I'm one of the fast guys here, Goss is a strong guy and Mark Renshaw is the perfect lead out guy – we've got all the fields covered."
The Santos Tour Down Under is a festival of cycling, with a range of associated events and festivals that create a massive party atmosphere across South Australia. Amateur cyclists can also get involved in the action, with the Skoda Breakaway Series, which gives people the chance to ride part of the WorldTour race route.
The Santos Tour Down Under invites the whole state of South Australia to the party, by taking the race through state’s regions. The race typically starts and concludes with exciting Adelaide city street circuits, with Stage 1-5 being held in regional South Australia.
