Rogers leads T-Mobile at Tour of Britain

Australian Michael Rogers will lead the T-Mobile team in the Tour of Britain, which starts today in Glasgow. The British national tour is one of Rogers' target events for the year and he comes to it with good form from the Regio Tour, where he won a stage and finished second overall.

"I had my first experience of the Tour of Britain last year and it's a fantastic event," said Rogers in a team newsletter. "I have made it one of my goals to do well at this year's event. I have only had two races since the Tour de France but I'm in good shape and have an experienced team to support me at what will be a very tough race."

The experienced Rogers will be joined by T-Mobile's youngest team member, Briton Mark Cavendish who is riding with the German squad as a stagiaire for the latter part of this season. Riding in his home country is an extra motivation for Cavendish, who won a gold medal in the Madison track event at the Commonwealth Games. "The London finale should suit me as a sprinter. I am expecting a very fast stage there," said Cavendish. "The stage into Liverpool will also be special, as it so close to home and there will be a big Manx contingent coming over to watch."

"The race, with its rolling profile, will suit good all-rounders. Michael Rogers has shown that he has good climbing legs at the moment. And in Olaf Pollack and Mark Cavendish, we have two riders on board, who can be in the mix in bunch sprint finishes," said directeur sportif Brian Holm.

The T-Mobile team for the Tour of Britain will be Olaf Pollack (32), Michael Rogers (26/Australia), Andreas Klöden (31), Mattias Kessler (27), Mark Cavendish (21/Great Britain), and Patrik Sinkewitz (25).