In a boost to the Tour of Britain and the sport in the country, Mark Cavendish is to join his leadout man Mark Renshaw and Liverpool’s Matt Brammeier in this year’s biggest road race.
Multiple Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish will lead his HTC Highroad team at The Tour of Britain, which begins this weekend in Scotland. Cavendish has been confirmed as a member of the HTC Highroad line-up, which also includes fellow members of his sprint team Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw.
Mark in Green at the Tour de Frane — now he’s heading for the Tour of Britain so start making those banners! Photo: John Pierce/PhotoSport International UK USA Asia
“As a team we have worked hard over the past fortnight to ensure that Mark Cavendish rides The Tour of Britain,†said Race Director Mick Bennett. “We are very pleased that Mark has been given permission by the organisers of the Vuelta a Espana to start The Tour of Britain, and will be able to race in front of home crowds for potentially the final time before the 2012 London Olympics.
“Mark’s addition to the start list will ensure that the sprints are hotly contested. I am sure the spectacle of Mark, Thor Hushovd, Ben Swift and others going head-to-head at stage finishes will draw huge crowds to the roadside once more.â€
Cavendish, who has won 20 stages of the Tour de France, last rode The Tour of Britain in 2007, when he won the opening two stages of the race. His HTC Highroad team have won the past two editions of Britain’s biggest professional cycle race, with Edvald Boasson Hagen taking the honours in 2009, and Michael Albasini the winner 12 months ago. This will be their final appearance in The Tour of Britain, following the announcement that the team will close at the end of the season.
On Twitter this morning (Monday), “Mark says So happy to announce on this lovely Monday morning that I will be racing in this years #TourOfBritain with my @HTCHighroad team. #excited”
Alongside the HTC Highroad line-up, SweetSpot Group, the organisers and promoters of The Tour of Britain are also pleased to reveal the final four provisional rosters for the race, from the official UCI Bulletins Endura Racing, Motorpoint Pro Cycling, Sigma Sport – Specialized and Team Raleigh.
Among the four British UCI Continental teams to announce their line-ups are several debutants, including Somerset based duo Marcin Bialoblocki and Will Bjergfelt, who will both be looking forward to racing through the county as part of the Motorpoint team during Stage Six.
The final Tour of Britain start list will be announced on the evening of Saturday 10th September.
Endura Racing provisional Tour of Britain line-up:
Jack Bauer NZl)); Iker Camano (Spa); Rene Mandri (Est); Paul Voss (Ger); Alex Wetherall (Swe); Ian Wilkinson (GBr)
Reserves: Alexandre Blain (Fra); Rob Partridge (GBr); Scott Thwaites (GBr)
Sigma Sport – Specialized provisional Tour of Britain line-up:
Russell Hampton (GBr); Steve Lampier (GBr); Tom Last (GBr); Tom Murray (GBr); Simon Richardson (GBr); Wouter Sybrandy (Ned)
Reserves: Stephen Adams (GBr); Tom Copeland (GBr); Kit Gilham (GBr)
Team HTC Highroad provisional Tour of Britain line-up:
Lars Bak (Den); Matt Brammeier (Irl); Mark Cavendish (GBr); Bernhard Eisel (Aut); Alex Rasmussen (Den); Mark Renshaw (Aus);
Reserves: Matt Goss (Aus); Gatis Smukulis (Lat)
Team Raleigh provisional Tour of Britain line-up:
Dan Fleeman (GBr); Richard Handley (GBr); Liam Holohan (GBr); Jeroen Janssen (Ned); Gael Le Bellec (Fra); Jamie Sparling (Can)
Reserves: Matt Cronshaw (GBr); Matt Kipling (GBr)
TOUR OF BRITAIN THE LINE UP SO FAR
HTC-Highroad
Mark Cavendish (GB),
Lars Bak (Den),
Matt Brammeier (Irl),
Bernhard Eisel (Aut),
Alex Rasmussen (Den),
Mark Renshaw (Aus).
Reserves: Matt Goss (Aus), Gatis Smukulis (Lat). Directeur sportif: Brian Holm
Endura Racing
Jack Bauer NZl
Iker Camano (Spa)
Rene Mandri (Est)
Paul Voss (Ger)
Alex Wetherall (Swe)
Ian Wilkinson (GBr)
Reserves: Alexandre Blain (Fra); Rob Partridge (GBr); Scott Thwaites (GBr)
Sigma Sport – Specialized
Russell Hampton (GBr);
Steve Lampier (GBr);
Tom Last (GBr);
Tom Murray (GBr);
Simon Richardson (GBr);
Wouter Sybrandy (Ned)
Reserves: Stephen Adams (GBr); Tom Copeland (GBr); Kit Gilham (GBr)
Team Raleigh
Dan Fleeman (GBr);
Richard Handley (GBr);
Liam Holohan (GBr);
Jeroen Janssen (Ned);
Gael Le Bellec (Fra);
Jamie Sparling (Can)
Reserves: Matt Cronshaw (GBr); Matt Kipling (GBr)
Garmin Cervelo
Julian Dean (NZl)
Roger Hammond (GBr)
Thor Hushovd (Nor)
Daniel Lloyd (GBr)
Martijn Maaskant (Ned)
David Millar (GBr)
Reserves: Brett Lancaster (Aus); Cameron Meyer (Aus); Gabriel Rasch (Nor)
Sky Procycling
Alex Dowsett (GBr)
Mathew Hayman (Aus)
Peter Kennaugh (GBr)
Michael Rogers (Aus)
Ben Swift (GBr)
Geraint Thomas (GBr);
Reserves: Steve Cummings (GBr); Greg Henderson (NZl); Jeremy Hunt (GBr)
Sigma Sport Specialized
Tom Last
Wouter Sybrandy
Simon Richardson
Russ Hampton
Tom Murray
Steve Lampier (below)
Rapha Condor Sharp
Ed Clancy (GBr)
Dan Craven (Nam)
Zak Dempster (Aus)
Kristian House (GBr)
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (GBr)
Andy Tennant (GBr)
Reserves: Graham Briggs (GBr); Dean Downing (GBr); Ben Greenwood (GBr); Casey Munro (Aus); Dean Windsor (Aus);
AN Post Sean Kelly Cycling
Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu)
Sam Bennett (Irl)
Andrew Fenn (GBr)
Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel)
Ronan McLaughlin (Irl)
Mark McNally (GBr)
Reserves: Mark Cassidy (Irl); Niko Eeckhout (Bel); Philip Lavery (Irl); Connor McConvey (Irl); Kenny Terwduwe (Bel)
Motorpoint
Marcin Bialoblocki (Pol
Tobyn Horton (GBr)
Jonny McEvoy (GBr)
Ian Bibby (GBr)
James Sampson (GBr)
Peter Williams (GBr)
Leopard Trek
Will Clarke (Aus)
Linus Gerdemann (Ger)
Dominic Klemme (Ger)
Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita)
Martin Pedersen (Den)
Jens Voigt (Ger)
Rabobank
Lars Boom (Ned)
Theo Bos (Ned)
Rick Flens (Ned)
Michael Matthews (Aus)
Bram Tankink (Ned)
Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned)
Reserves: Matti Breschel (Den); Graeme Brown (Aus); Sebastian Langeveld (Ned); Maarten Tjallingii (Ned)
Team Europcar
Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn)
Franck Bouyer (Fra)
Anthony Charteau (Fra)
Damien Gaudin (Fra)
Yohann Gene (Fra)
Alexandre Pichot (Fra)
Reserves: Mathieu Claude (Fra); Christophe Kern (Fra); Guillaume Le Floch (Fra); Kevin Reza (Fra)
Team NetApp
Jan Barta (Cze)
Cesare Benedetti (Ita)
Bartosz Huzarski (Pol)
Daryl Impey (RSA)
Leopold König (Cze)
Timon Seubert (Ger)
Reserves: Andreas Dietziker (Sui); Andreas Schillinger (Ger); Daniel Schorn (Aut)
Topsport Vlaanderen Mercator
Dominique Cornu (Bel)
Kenny De Ketele (Bel)
Stijn Neirynck (Bel)
Jarl Salomein (Bel)
Preben Van Hecke (Bel)
Jelle Wallays (Bel)
Reserves: Sven Jodts (Bel); Stijn Joseph (Bel); Steven Van Vooren (Bel)
Vacansoleil DCM Pro Cycling Team
Maxim Belkov (Rus)
Jan-Bert Lindeman (Ned)
Barry Markus (Ned)
Wouter Mol (Ned)
Jens Mouris (Ned)
Willem Wauters (Bel)
Reserves: Borut Bozic (Slo); Marcello Pavarin (Ita)
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
Robert Förster (Ger)
Chris Jones (USA)
Karl Menzies (Aus)
Rory Sutherland (Aus)
Boy van Poppel (Ned)
Scott Zwizanski (USA)
