The many big-name sprinters at the second edition of the Abu Dhabi Tour promised some high-speed finishes on the flat stages but Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) played down the chance of seeing them fight for overall victory, passing team leadership to their understudies who are on better form so late in the season.
Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal), John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), Michael Matthew (Orica-BikeExchange), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Elia Viviani (Team Sky), UAE national champion Yousif Mirza (Nasr-Dubai) sat alongside Contador and Nibali on the long table at the top rider press conference on Wednesday as they revealed their hopes and ambitions for the four days of racing that kicks off with a flat stage on Thursday.
Cavendish sat centre stage as the official ambassador of the Abu Dhabi Tour and seemed to be the happiest to be in the UAE. Last year, he was forced to watch from the roadside after injuring his shoulder in crash at the Tour of Britain. This year, he leads the Dimension Data team after a hugely successful 2016 season that included his second place behind Peter Sagan at the World Championships in Qatar last Sunday.
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"To be back here racing is pretty special, I watched with envy as others raced last year," he said. " I'm looking forward to racing and contesting the three sprint stages. The mountain finish isn't a stage for me but it was a dramatic stage I think we're going to see some great racing.
"It's great that Abu Dhabi Tour is going to be WorldTour in its third outing. It has one of best calibre of riders outside of the Tour de France that shows people want to come here. It has incredible sponsor and is in a great location. It was only a matter of time that it was going to elevated to the pinnacle of pro cycling."
A World Championships revenge match
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