Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) heads to the Tour of Oman looking to open his account for the season at one of the three possible sprint stages on offer during the six-day race which kicks off on Thursday.
The Colombian is set to face off against ex-teammate Mark Cavendish (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) at the race, with the pair being the biggest-names among the fast-men on the start list. He started his season with last week's Saudi Tour, where he picked up a third and fourth place, but despite the disappointment of not taking a victory, he still likes his shape heading into Oman.
"At the Saudi Tour I was a little bit disappointed because I wanted to to win some stages there, but it didn't happen," Gaviria told reporters ahead of the first stage. "But I'm happy with my performance.
"I'm a little bit tired after the travel, but it's the life of cycling," he added, saying that he had flown from Saudi Arabia to Paris and then back to Muscat in the last week. "I'm really happy to stay here. Really comfortable with my performance and then we see what happens this week."
Gaviria added that he's confident that he's working back to the level of performance he enjoyed back in his best season, 2017, when four Giro d'Italia stage wins and the points jersey were among 14 victories.
Since then he's been dogged by injuries and two COVID-19 infections, but he said that the virus and its effects are behind him now, even if he's worried about new variants emerging.
"Yes, I think we are coming there," he said of his peak 2017 shape. "Now we make really nice program with my trainer to do that. In every race and every training, we can go one step more. Now I'm really good shape and then I'm happy with that and then we see what is the coming in the next days.
"I'm scared because now with every new [COVID-19] variant it's difficult. We need to stay careful with that, but I feel it's OK – the COVID for me is in the past. At the moment, I cross my fingers and I feel much better than years before. It's February and my condition is good. I feel really good, much better the last year and two years ago and it's a good thing."
Gaviria is building towards a return to the Giro d'Italia in the first half of the season, where he's set to ride his final race alongside long-time lead out man and close friend Max Richeze, who is retiring at the end of the Grand Tour.
"It's the last months for him," Gaviria said. "I like riding with him. He is my roommate and it's nice because now we know more or less when he finishes his career and then we can enjoy every day.
"Richeze is really important in my career. I can call him when I'm in Colombia for something – he's like my big brother. He says want to stop and then I completely understand because he's a little bit old for this cycling.
"I hope the next step out of the bike is nice to him. And then if I can help at all, I'll do it. It's a little bit disappointing because it's one roommate less in the team and then we change everything because with him it's seven years together and then you know everything about him, what time we want to go to sleep, what music you want to see to put in the phone and then everything is easier."
While a fourth career appearance at the Giro alongside the Argentine is his major goal this spring – along with a return to the cobbled Classics – a start at the Tour de France looks to be off the table. Riding alongside new signing and fellow top sprinter Pascal Ackermann, is also likely to be a rare occurrence in 2022.
"It's better to take one guy to help [Tadej Pogačar] to try for the win again," he said. "For the team it's difficult to go to the Tour because with Tadej, we need the people who can help him. I can't help him too much – he can really fly in the climbs and it's better to take one guy to help him to try for the win again.
"[Me and Ackermann] have a separate group in the team, but if it's we're in the same race then we'll take a decision in race – because who is feeling better can do the sprint. And then for me it's not a problem to do the lead out for him.
"But the team has organised it so that we don't race too much together. But we see what happens in the next races. Maybe we'll ride together and then it's good for the team."
