Germany's Andre Greipel and American Tyler Farrar have been knocking at Cavendish's door in recent years and events off the bike mean they are hoping for a bigger slice of the pie. Farrar's Garmin team recently merged with Cervelo, attracting the likes of world champion Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler to Garmin-Cervelo and creating a quality-packed outfit that, on paper, will challenge Cavendish's dominance. Greipel was Cavendish's teammate for two years, during which time the Briton's success left the German in a second-string side. Frustrated with the lack of opportunities, he has since moved to Omega-Pharma.
Next week's Tour of Qatar and the ensuing races will give the sprinters an early chance to experiment and lay down some early markers. Yet Australian Mark Renshaw, Cavendish's final lead-out man, believes it will take a lot to beat his winning combination with the Isle of Man rider. "On paper they (Garmin-Cervelo) have a great sprint team but on paper they don't have a great lead-out team," Renshaw told AFP. "I dedicate myself completely to Cav. If they can do that, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with. But until Tyler (Farrar) or Thor (Husdhovd) or whoever steps over and dedicates themselves completely to one of the guys, it's going to be hard."
Having suffered defeat to Cavendish on all three Grand Tours, the 26-year-old Farrar is hoping the merger with Cervelo bears fruit. "We're such a strong team. On paper we're pretty incredible when it comes to the classics and sprints, and hopefully that's going to translate into a lot of big wins," Farrar, who broke his wrist on stage two of the 2010 Tour de France, told AFP. The big question mark surrounds Greipel, who has yet to compete in many big races, having been deprived by Cavendish's domination while they both raced for HTC. In Greipel's first outing with his new team he failed to defend his crown at the Tour Down Under in Australia, which he has won twice, and failed to bag a stage win. He concedes it will take time for his own sprint train to come together, but he expects Garmin-Cervelo – if they can get their tactics right – to be formidable.
"It's early days, we have to improve a few things but I think we'll see in the future that Omega-Pharma Lotto has a lead-out train," said the German. "If they all pull on one rope, Garmin-Cervelo will be unbeatable. Farrar, Hushovd, Haussler – if they are going for sprints for Farrar or Hushovd, there's not so many teams who can be faster." Cavendish has shown in the past he can win without a sprint train, coming off Renshaw's wheel on the 11th stage of the 2010 Tour de France – after which the Australian was barred for headbutting – to take his third win of the race. Ominously for his rivals, HTC-Highroad sports director Allan Peiper believes it is a tactic to be explored. "As good as a lead-out train is, it's only as good as the final man who's finishing it off," Peiper told AFP. "In my opinion, when they're at the top of their game, Mark (Renshaw) and Cav are pretty much untouchable, with or without a train. "A lot of respect to the other teams, like Garmin and Sky – they have great execution, but don't quite have the guy to finish it off." It will certainly be an exciting field of riders for Spyns 2011 Tour de France trips.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
