Team Sky fans will (probably) be breathing a sigh of relief after something of a roller coaster weekend of news leading up to Mark Cavendish’s début for his new squad at the Tour of Qatar. It was initially reported that he had been taken ill on the flight out to the Middle East state on Friday evening and then that he had sat out Saturday’s training day after consulting with the team medical staff. In an official statement Team Sky’s Race Coach Rod Ellingworth said: ‘Obviously it’s disappointing that Mark has fallen ill the day before his Team Sky debut. He felt fine when he boarded the plane last night but wasn’t 100% when he got off it…He’s really frustrated that he’s come down with this because he’s in great shape condition-wise and was looking to hit the ground running here in Qatar.’
Better news greeted fans on Sunday morning (February 5) with a statement from Team Sky’s Sports Director Steven de Jongh saying: ‘We’re all delighted that Mark has been able to battle back from the bug he picked up coming out here and it will be a real boost to the rest of the guys to know that he’ll be starting today. Our medical team have done a fantastic job in looking after him and Mark has followed their advice to the letter. Clearly, he’s not going to be at his best in the next few days but we’re hoping he’ll get stronger with every passing stage… We’ll continue to keep a very close eye on him but hopefully he’s over the worst of it now.’
And so it was that Cav took to the Stage 1 route (141.5km, Barzan Towers College of the North Atlantic), understandably sitting back from the sprint but finishing 51st with former world champion Tom Boonen of Omega Pharma-Quick Step taking the win. Bated breath is still required for today (Monday February 6) as he heads out for the 11.3km Sprint Stage…
