Over a fortnight after landing in Australia Owain Doull is ready to make his WorldTour debut at the Tour Down Under for Team Sky.
The Olympic gold medallist arrived Down Under on January 3, and along with a British clique that included Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas, the 23-year-old has made the best of the warm weather conditions to help kick-start his season. He will line up alongside the Henao cousins, his recent training companions and Danny van Poppel.
"I've been out here with a good group and got a lot of work done. From what the guys have said, WorldTour is a big step in terms of racing, so I'm not too sure what to expect but we've got a strong team across the board with Danny for the sprints and then Sergio and Geraint for the GC," Doull told Cyclingnews after a morning training ride.
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As well as navigating van Poppel through the sprint melees, Doull will use his engine to protect Team Sky's GC aspirations in the race. As far as WorldTour debuts go, the Tour Down Under is ideal with its warm climate and relatively short stage distances. However Sky's lofty ambitions will ensure that Doull has little time to rest on his laurels.
"My job will be a bit of everything, really. I'll be there to help out Danny on the flatter stages. I'll be leading him out and then on the hiller days I'll be helping out the Henaos with water bottles and general domestique duties. There will be something to do every day. I'll be Danny's last man, and I know we've not had a lot of time to work on that, but I'm the best suited here to help him."
By the time he heads back to Wales, Doull will have spent a total of six weeks in Australia, heading from the Tour Down Under to Cadel Evans' race, before linking up with Chris Froome at the Herald Sun Tour.
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