Race News
Cav Bags FirstWins for Team Sky
Mark Cavendish marked his first race for Team Sky with two wins in the six-stage Tour of Qatar. TheWorld Champion, whose participation in the event was in some doubt due to illness, sprinted past eventual overall winner Tom Boonen (Team Omega-Pharma Quick Step) to take stage three from Dukhan to Al Gharafa Stadium.
The stage was affected by cross winds which caused a split in the peloton with 30km to go. Cavendish though, protected by team-mates JuanAntonio Flecha and Bernard Eisel, was the right side of the split and despite still feeling the effects of the illness had enough in the tank to power past the Belgian in the closing moments.
Cavendish's second win came two days later, on the the 160km stage from the Camel Race Track to the Al Khor Corniche. The stage featured a breakaway by five riders that lasted for 145km but was caught with 10km to go. Cavendish prevailed in the bunch sprint, beating the Liquigas-Cannondale pair of Daniel Oss and Peter Sagan to the line.
The Tour ofQatar ended on a sour note though for Cavendish, a final stage crash leaving him with abrasions and some dizziness. He remonstrated with Roger Kluge (Project 1 t4i) afterwards, clearly feeling that the German was at fault.
The Manxman has stated he wants to do the World Champ's rainbow jersey proud this season by winning throughout the year, and his wins at Qatar have certainly made a great start in achieving that goal. The Tour ofOman is next up where Cavendish and the rest ofTeam Sky will continue to fine-tune their sprints' lead-out train.
Andy Fenn was
Junior European Track Champion
in the Pursuit and Team Pursuit in
2008 and winner of the Junior
Paris-Roubaix, also in 2008
Andy Fenn Doubles Up
Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) has won back-to-back races at the Challenge Mallorca, with sprint victories in both the Trofeo Palma and the Trofeo Migjorn. The 21 - year-old Briton has had a perfect start to the 2012 season, his first with the Omage Pharma- Quick Step team.
The Challenge Mallorca is run over four days, comprising four individual races, and this year took place from February 5-8. However, the final day’s racing was cancelled due to snow on some of the climbs which the race was due to use. Race One was the Trofeo Palma criterium, where Fenn out-paced GermanAndre Schulze (NetApp) and RussianAlexander Porsev (Katusha) from a long sprint to take the first of his wins at the end of the 116 kilometre race.
“I'm ecstatic," Fenn said afterwards. "I've been dreaming of a victory like this. The team did some extraordinary work. In the last 3 laps we took charge of the
race...It's my first success as a pro; the joy is indescribable."
The following day was the 171 kms Trofeo Migjorn, where Fenn beatAlexander Porsev (Team Katusha) andMatteo Pelucchi (Team Europcar) in the final sprint. The course for the Migjorn was a hillier one than the previous day’s crit, and was made tougher by rain which fell during the event.
"Today the race was very difficult," said Fenn. "When the group broke up into three parts at about 40 kilometres from the arrival I got caught off guard in the second group.” Fenn paid tribute to his team mate Kevin DeWeert, who helped him catch the leaders. “Kevin put in a great effort and I thank him. Without him today I never would have made it. But I want to thank the entire squad. The group here is fantastic and it feels like I've always been riding with this team.
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