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Cavendish sick on eve of Tour of Qatar
British world champion still a probable starter
Mark Cavendish's preparations for his Team Sky debut suffered a setback on Saturday after he missed his final training ride ahead of Sunday's Tour of Qatar with illness. The British sprinter complained of feeling unwell after flying into the Qatari capital of Doha.
As a precautionary measure the 26-year-old did not join his teammates as they left the team hotel for their morning ride. A spokesman from Team Sky stated that no final decision has been made on his participation in tomorrow's race but that he was likely to start. He will spend the remainder of the day resting.
"13hrs of sweat-drenched sleep hasn't shifted a fever that started on the plane over here. Really not feeling well today. Can't leave my bed," Cavendish said via Twitter on Saturday.
The six-stage race starts on Sunday at the iconic Barzan Towers and will run until Friday. The race organisers will be hopeful that Cavendish, one of world cycling's biggest draws, will recover to take his place at the start line, especially after German star Andre Greipel pulled out of the race earlier in the week.
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Related riders
Mark Cavendish
Key results
1st World Road Championships 2011
1st World Track Championships, Madison 2005, 2008
1st Points competition, Tour de France 2011
20 stage wins, Tour de France 2008-11
9 stage wins, Giro d’Italia, 2008-11
1st Points competition, Vuelta a España 2010
4 stages wins, Vuelta a España 2010
1st Milan-San Remo 2009
1st Scheleprijs 2007, 2008, 2011
2nd Points competition, Tour de France 2009, 2010Looking ahead to 2012
It will be hard for Mark Cavendish to top his 2011 season, winning the green jersey in the Tour de France and the rainbow stripes of World Champion – but Cavendish has big dreams, and they’re centred around July, riding the Tour de France and then the Olympic road race in London. Not that the rest of the peloton will be making it easy for him – and it will be interesting to see whether the move from HTC to Sky will affect his racing. Whatever happens, there are sure to be the usual fireworks!
Related teams
Sky Procycling
2012 UCI status: ProTeam
Sponsor: Broadcast network
Team Nationality: UK
Website: www.teamsky.comTeam Manager: David Brailsford
Directeurs sportifs: Steven De Jongh, Rod Ellingworth, Servais Knaven, Marcus Ljungqvist, Nicolas Portal, Sean Yates