- Two-time victor, Andre Greipel, will return to the Tour Down Under in 2012
The man considered one of Mark Cavendish’s greatest rivals will begin his 2012 season at the Santos Tour Down Under – a race he has already won twice.
German sprinter, Andre Greipel, will lead the Belgian Lotto-Belisol team in seven days of racing through south Australia, beginning with a criterium on the streets of Adelaide on Sunday January 15.
Greipel, who won the Tour Down Under in 2008 and 2010, and who left Cavendish’s now disbanded HTC-Highroad team last December amid rumours of growing inter-team rivalry, said he planned to make a winning start to his season.
“Racing in Australia has a special meaning for me, since it is here that I first knocked on the door as a world class sprinter. I am looking forward to the stages where we will be able to test our new sprint train with solid riders in who I believe a lot. Winning a stage in the Santos Tour Down Under is my first objective for the 2012 season,” said Greipel.
Lotto-Belisol, formed from the Omega Pharma Lotto squad that enjoyed countless successes with Phillipe Gilbert in 2011, was granted a three-year WorldTour licence by the UCI in November.
While Gilbert has departed in a big money move to BMC, the 27-strong Lotto-Belisol outfit will remain among the peloton’s super teams, and will field Australian, Adam Hansen, and New Zealander, Greg Henderson, alongside German riders, Greipel and Marcel Sieberg, Belgians, Olivier Kaisen and Jurgen Roelandts, and the Spaniard, Vicente Reynes, in the Tour Down Under.
Race director, Mike Turtur, confirmed Greipel’s inclusion in the thirteenth edition of Australia’s WorldTour event, and pondered the German’s potential to deliver a hat-trick of victories.
“We know Greipel is a formidable sprinter and our race suits him well, so it will be interesting to see if he can be the first rider to win three editions of the Santos Tour Down Under,” he said.
Greipel’s Team Director, Marc Sergeant, confirmed the German’s position as his team leader at the Santos Tour Down Under, and said his team would try to win at every opportunity.
“We have selected a team that will be ready to compete for victory in each of the stages. A good start of the season is very important to us and how could we better start the season than with a stage win in the Santos Tour Down Under?” he said.
