Cavendish Spearheads T-Mobile's American Challenge

 

Story posted June 2
T-Mobile Press Release (www.t-mobileteam.com)

 

Britain's Mark Cavendish and New Zealander Greg Henderson lead the T-Mobile charge at the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling Series, which kicks off Sunday (June 3) in Lancaster USA.

 

The Lancaster event is followed by the Reading race on June 7 and the Philadelphia event on June 10 - the richest and longest one-day professional cycling event in North America. Completing the T-Mobile line-up on American roads are Eric Baumann, Bernhard Eisel, Jakob Piil and Roger Hammond – no strangers to sprints and lead-outs, with all four hoping to put their top-end speed to good use.

 

Right: From posing outside Big Ben this week to the heart of the US for Sunday, Mark Cavendish (left) and Roger Hammond are two of the riders spearheading the T-Mobile Challenge in America. Mark will be returning to the States where he won his World Madison title with Rob Hayles in 2005.

 

Fresh off a two-week stint at the Giro d’Italia, Henderson has his own tough act to follow in the US. Last year, while riding for Health Net-Maxxis', the Kiwi sprinted to two race wins in the three-race series. Meanwhile, the in-form Cavendish will also be hungry for more race wins to add to his ever-growing palmares of five Pro wins already this year, though Sunday’s opener may come a bit too soon for the Manx speedster.

 

"Mark and Roger, who were previewing the Tour prologue course in London, arrive here just the evening before the first race. It’s always difficult to go straight into a race after long-distance travel and jetlag," says sporting director Tristan Hoffman. "But I still think we will be in the mix at the opener. Greg won last year in Reading and Philadelphia and he is very motivated to repeat that success.”

 

Cavendish should be fighting fit by Thursday, however: “From a sprinter’s perspective, the series looks quite promising and I’m looking really forward to it,” says the 22-year-old. “My form is still on the up and there is more to come.”

 

Marco Pinotti und Aaron Olson are likely to step in to strengthen the team for the Philadelphia race. Both riders are due to finish the Giro d’Italia on Sunday. Each race has its own characteristics – The 137 km Lancaster race is marked by a small winding and narrow climb through a park, with thirteen times up a punchy climb. Thursday’s race in Reading is 120 km over ten trips between downtown and Mount Penn with a final one-mile climb added on the last lap.

 

The 250 km Philadelphia finale is dominated by the brutal ascent of the 17% Manayunk Wall, which racers will tackle ten times before they finally reach the finish line. Twenty one  teams are in action at the Triple Crown, with CSC the only other ProTour squad. "We are starting with a strong team and they are all motivated to do well against the local US-based competition", says Hoffman.

 

The T-Mobile roster in brief:
Eric Baumann (27), Mark Cavendish (22/Great Britain), Bernhard Eisel (26/Austria), Roger Hammond (33/Great Britain), Greg Henderson (30/New Zealand), Aaron Olson (29/USA), Jacob Piil (34/Denmark), Marco Pinotti (31/Italy).

 

Sporting director: Tristan Hoffman (37/Netherlands)

 

Race series in brief:
Sunday, June 3: Lancaster Classic (UCI-Category 1.1/137 km)
Thursday, June 7: Reading Classic 120 km (UCI-Category 1.1/120 km)
Sunday, June 10: Philadelphia International Championship (UCI-Category 1.1/250 km)

 

RELATED LINKS

T-Mobile Look at London Prologue Course: >>>>

Interview with Mark from Isle of Man Today Newspaper >>>>