Cycling legend Sir Bradley Wiggins played down his chances ahead of his Dubai Tour debut.
The 2012 Tour de France winner is set to make his bow in the UAE as part of Team Wiggins for the four-stage race, which begins with a 179km trek from Dubai Marine International Club (DIMC) to Fujairah.
Wiggins is one of the headline acts for the third running of the event, but he insists his focus lies solely on helping young team-mates develop their racecraft.
“Don’t be expecting too much,” the 35-year-old said yesterday alongside fellow star names such as reigning champion Mark Cavendish, sprint rival Marcel Kittel and evergreen 2008 Olympic time-trial gold medallist Fabian Cancellara.
“Unlike everyone else on this table, I do not expect to do anything.
“The Dubai Tour is one of four road races that I’m doing this year (ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics), so just to be here with the team is good.
“Hopefully, we can get guys up in the results and mixing it with these guys. If I can help, that’d be great.
“Just being in race with the names here, that is great experience for them. Some of the guys are just 19, when will they get another chance to mix it?
“The team is about moving them on to bigger squads, such as Team Sky. If I can help nurture them, that is my goal more than anything this week.”
This edition of the Dubai Tour is set to run over its longest combined distance of 671km.
After the coast-to-coast opener, the action moves to the 188km-Nakheel Stage between DIMC and the famous Palm Jumeirah.
The testing 172km Westin Stage follows, with the final 132km Burj Stage starting in the direction of the Meydan Racecourse and ending with a sprint to the iconic Burj Khalifa on Saturday.
The clash between Cavendish and Kittel is expected to be the main talking point during the 16-team race, with speedsters set to dominate the running on courses which are flat except the uphill finish to Hatta Dam on Friday.
Former road race world champ-ion Cavendish won two stages last year on his way to supremacy in the general classification and he was excited about competing in the tour once again.
He said: “I’ve raced in the Dubai Tour the last two years and I’ve enjoyed it, especially with winning it overall last year.
“I’ve come back with not much road racing under my belt, but I know from the track that my sprint is good.
“I’m here racing for Dimension Data with a very strong team on the road.
“I just like it here in the UAE – people are great and the race has everything I like.”
The intrigue has been added to by the fact both sprinters are in new teams for 2016.
Cavendish’s debut for Dimension Data last weekend’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia ended in a withdrawal, while Kittel will be competing for the first time with Etixx–Quick-Step in Dubai.
The German – who has won stages in all three Grand Tours and the Dubai points jersey in 2014 – declared he was determined to do well.
He said: “For me, it feels good to start a new season with a new team. I’ve already experienced a happy time at training camps and during the whole preparation for the new year.
“Here at the Dubai Tour, I want to show my motivation and get the confirmation that the pre-season work pays off. As a team, we’re here with a lot of motivation.”
Significant local interest exists away from the star-studded peloton. Regulars Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team – Al Ahli Club are set to be joined by the newly-formed Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team, whose leading man is UAE No1 Yousif Mirza.
He said: “It is an honour to race with these champions. It gives me more experience at this level – we hope to take our chances.”
Swiss veteran Cancellara is set to retire at the end of this year.
He began his swansong in style last weekend, powering to a fine solo victory in the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana.
“We saw in Majorca that the level is already very high (in the peloton),” he said when asked about his form and prospects for Hatta Dam.
“You could see people’s strength, that is no secret. I am just racing and just enjoying myself. I did my movements that I needed to do.
“We will see about Hatta Dam. I will be taking it day by day and see about my opportunities.”
