CAVENDISH FAVOURITE FOR SECOND WIN AT THE SCHELDEPRIJS

CAVENDISH FAVOURITE FOR SECOND WIN AT THE SCHELDEPRIJS

High Road’s Mark Cavendish is one of the bookmaker’s favourites to win
the Belgian Scheldeprijs race for a second consecutive on Wednesday.

Cavendish beat Australia’s Robbie McEwen with a blistering sprint in
2007. It was his first win as a professional and started what would be
a roll of 11 victories in 2007. The 21 year-old from the Isle of Man
showed he is on form with two victories in sprints at the Three Days of
De Panne and keen to continue to start another run of success.

Tristan Hofmann will direct the High Road team in the Scheldeprijs
race. The team will have several options but working for Cavendish in
the sprint is the most likely strategy as the team chases its 21st
victory of the 2008 season.

“Mark was a little disappointed after missing out in Ghent-Wevelgem but
he’s been training hard since and wants to make up for it with a second
win in Sheldeprijs,” Hoffmann said.

“We’ve got a good team of experienced and young riders who can win the
race in lots of ways, so we won’t ride exclusively for Mark from the
start, but if the race ends in a sprint you can bet we’ll work hard to
set him up. He’s one of the fastest finishes in the peloton and is on
form right now.”

“We can count on the experience of Servais Knaven and Greg Henderson,
and Bradley Wiggins is returning to road racing after winning three
world titles on the track. Gerald Ciolek is also riding, He’s going
well and so we could switch to him if Mark is not on a good day but I’m
sure Mark will be okay. He really wants to win this race again because
it’s where he won his first big race.”

The Scheldeprijs is 197km long and marks the end of the series of
Flemish classics races before the teams head east to the Ardennes.

Known as the GP l’Escault in French, it starts in the centre of Antwerp
and finishes with several small circuits around the town of Shoten a few
kilometres inland. The sprint is flat and a slight curve before the
finish means it is best to take an inside line. However Cavendish was
fast enough to win on the outside last year.

“Last year Mark beat Robbie McEwen and Gert Steegmans and I’m sure
they’ll both be up there on Wednesday,” Hoffmann predicted.

“McEwen has had a difficult start to the year but you can never count
him out. We’ll be watching him and hope Mark will again have the speed
to beat him.”

High Road for Scheldeprijs: Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Greg
Henderson, Gerald Ciolek, Tony Martin, Servais Knaven, Marcel Sieberg
and Edvald Boasson Hagen.