Team Etixx-Quick Step rider Mark Cavendish believes the newly redesigned Dubai Tour route will prove anything but an easy early-season warm-up.
The 2015 Tour kicks off on Wednesday with Cavendish among an array of the world’s leading cyclists set to contest the second staging of the event.
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After the success of 2014 – a race dominated by sprinters – organisers have decided to tweak the formula to create a more rounded competition.
The biggest changes come in Friday’s 205km third stage, from Dubai to the Hatta Dam, where several punishing climbs have been thrown into the mix.
Cavendish may be one of the sport’s greatest ever sprinters, but he says the revised route is a big improvement and will provide a stiff test at this fledgling stage of the 2015 calendar.
“We took a look at the (third) stage yesterday and it is very difficult,” explained the 29-year-old Channel Islander.
“It’s one we’ve been looking into as a team and trying to break down. This year the race has a lot more hills and its tough.
“It’s a stage that doesn’t favour sprinters as much with the inclusion of the hills.
“The wind could also be a tremendous factor along the way, so we just need to give it our best shot.”
Cavendish, who with 25 Tour de France stage wins places third on the all-time list, says the changes mean the 2015 race promises to be a more competitive and open spectacle.
He said: “It’s hard to find hills around here but they’ve done a great job to find a route that isn’t a sprint every day. It adds variety.
“Also looking at stage two, it finishes next to the Palm but there is a sharp wind that comes in and that could have an impact at the end.”
Cavendish believes an EtixxQuick Step win would provide the team with a welcome early season boost, while also rewarding the hard work of a rigorous training camp spent at altitude in the Argentine town of San Luis.
“The best riders are on show here, each with different ambitions but all with the aim of doing the best they can. It’s not going to be easy,” he said.
“It’s great to be back again and re-focus on the year ahead. Our main job is to win the race.
“We just have to set out a plan and stick to it.
“We’ve been preparing well. We did some great work, challenging at times, but I enjoyed it.
“It was tough adapting back to the weather at home afterwards. We were working in 30-degree heat in San Luis, training hard, and then I got back to the Isle of Man after December where it was one degree.
“But now I’m excited about seeing some good racing in Dubai,” the Tour de France veteran added.
“It’s a great way to start the year for the team. We have three sprint stages, which I’ll be aiming to win.”
