T-Mobile checks out London course

Four T-Mobile riders checked out the Tour de France prologue course in London this week, weaving their way through the big city traffic. Team captain Michael Rogers, Linus Gerdemann, and the team's two English riders, Roger Hammond and Mark Cavendish saw the sights along the way as they took a first training ride.

They rode through Hyde Park and Whitehall, and by such famous sights as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The two British riders are hoping to recommend themselves for the Tour squad, which won't be announced for several weeks. Cavendish has racked up five wins so far this season, including two stages in the recent ProTour race Volta a Catalunya.

"It was fantastic, if a little scary, to ride through London on the roads that will be used to host the Tour Prologue," the 22-year-old Cavendish said. "I can only imagine how incredible the atmosphere is going to be on the seventh of July and it will be amazing to see the race back on British soil. I think this trip will do us a lot of good as a team - even if we do not make the team for the Tour we have invaluable experience and knowledge of the route which we can pass on to our colleagues."

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Images by T-Mobile Team

• Mark Cavendish and Roger Hammond check the time at Big Ben
• Mark Cavendish, Roger Hammond, Linus Gerdemann and Michael Rogers at Buckingham Palace
• Hammond, Gerdemann, Rogers and Cavendish