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CAVENDISH WINS AGAIN IN BELGIUM; ABBOT TAKES PROLOGUE IN REDLANDS

21-year-old Mark Cavendish has secured back-to-back wins in the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium.

At the end of the 119 kilometre stage starting and finishing in De Panne on Thursday, Cavendish once again proved he was the fastest. It was his second victory in less than 24 hours.

Second in the hotly disputed bunch sprint was Italian Francesco Chicchi with Slovenian Borut Bozic in third.

“It wasn’t easy this time. Mark went shoulder to shoulder with [Italian sprinter Danilo] Napolitano for about a kilometre and a half before the finish and he was in the wind all that time.” team sports director Allan Peiper said afterwards.

“That explains why Mark ‘only’ won by half a bike length this time, not the nearly three bike lengths of the day before.”

Peiper said strong team-work had played a key factor in getting Cavendish into the frame for the sprint.

“Two of our guys, Marcel Sieberg and Servais Knaven were on the front of the bunch to pull back a break. Then Roger [Hammond] did some great work for him later on and finally ‘Cav’ came through a gap in the bunch that wasn’t there.”

“Mark is really exceptional.” Peiper said. “Nothing seems able to take away his self-confidence.”

“Other sprinters lose their self-belief quickly, but what makes Mark so exceptional is that his morale remains so solid come what may.”

Cavendish is now a strong favorite for Ghent-Wevelgem next Wednesday. Considered the best Classic for the sprinters, the double ascent of the Kemmelberg climb in the final hour’s racing is the one big obstacle for a bunch gallop in Wevelgem.

“Mark is definitely one of the favorites for Ghent-Wevelgem if it comes down to a bunch sprint.” team manager Rolf Aldag added. “We’ll have to see whether he gets over the Kemmelberg all right first. But we’ll be looking after him all the way.”

ABBOTT CLIMBS TO VICTORY IN REDLANDS

Redlands, CA, 3 April 2008 - Mara Abbott climbed to victory in the prologue of the Redlands Bicycle Classic today finishing the 5 kilometre steep uphill time trial in a time of 11'10". Katherine Carroll of Aarons Cycling finished 25 second behind her to take second place, with Abbott's teammate Kim Anderson rounding out the podium another one second behind.

Abbott's ride earns her the yellow leaders jersey and the climbers jersey going into the first stage.

Abbott was excited with the victory with the race being something she had been focusing on.

"I'm excited," she said. "Redlands is a race that I really really love. It's one of the first big races I did so it's amazing to do the full circle and come back and do well in it. Everyone in the town is also excited about the race which makes it even more special to do well here."

During the ride Abbott very "…in control. This is my third time doing this course. I felt like I knew what I had to do and at the top I knew I'd had a good ride," she added.

On what to expect in the next few days Abbott explained, "The riding we've done together so far in California has been fun and this is our last race here before we head to Europe, so I hope we can do well."

Anderson was also extremely excited after the stage. "This is a surprise. I've been looking forward to this race. It's been a big goal and to make the podium in the prologue is very exciting for me."

She added, "I felt really good on the way up the climb. I held back a little at the beginning so I felt really good all the way. In hindsight, I shouldn't have held back so much."

"I love this race. It's beneficial that the five of us have been doing so many races together in the last month. We've really learnt a lot about each other and I think we have a good chance to defend the jersey. I'm excited about it."
Team High Road rides the prototype Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle.
For more information on Team High Road visit www.highroadsports.com