T-Mobile in France

T-Mobile Team is prepared for its first races of the European season, sending a team to the GP La Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessege in France next week. The races will see the T-Mobile debut of three new riders, including the two British sprinters Mark Cavendish and Roger Hammond.

The GP La Marseillaise is a one-day race, February 6, followed by the Etoile de Bessege, Feb. 7-11, which runs over 734 kilometers in five stages.

The races will also mark the T-Mobile debut of Directeur Sportif Allan Peiper, who said, "The lads have put in the hard work in training in Mallorca. Now I am keen to see how the training efforts pay off when the races begin."

The two British sprinters will be riding in support of Andre Greipel. "We can count on the likes of Greipel, Cavendish or even Hammond to make their presence felt in sprint situations," Peiper noted.

Marco Pinotti will also be making his T-Mobile debut, and Axel Merckx will ride his first race in magenta after a pause of many years - he started his career with the then-Team Telekom.

T-Mobile for GP La Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessege: Lorenzo Bernucci, Mark Cavendish, Scott Davis, Andre Greipel, Roger Hammond, Axel Merckx, Marco Pinotti, and Frantisek Rabon.