A-team ready to Cavendish plays down chances face Sri Lankans

PARIS: Mark Cavendish embarks on his sixth Tour de France on Saturday a leaner, wiser man and a much more cautious one as well.

While everybody might have expected the Briton to win his yearly average of five stages, the world champion warned he had other goals this season and the tally might be less.

“I will win stages but I may not win five,” Cavendish told a news conference in London yesterday.

He shed four kilograms since the Giro d’Italia in a deliberate effort to prepare for the London Olympic road race, which he sees as too hilly for pure sprinters to claim and follows quickly after the Tour ends on July 22.

“My sprint has suffered a little bit, but the guys who are sprinters, like I was, won’t be there in the finish (of the Olympics),” he said.

The man from the Isle of Man is definitely not quite the same rider as the one who won the final sprint on the Champs Elysees a year ago, adding a 20th stage victory to his record while conquering the green jersey.

Since then, Cavendish became world champion, a father, and switched teams from defunct American outfit Columbia High Road to Britain’s Team Sky.

He also won his first stage race a week ago in the Dutch Ster ZLM Toer, a “benchmark victory” proving that the weight loss had extended his range even though he was beaten in most of the bunch sprints.

The defending green jersey holder can no longer rely on a train of team-mates to set him up for the battle to the finish line in the three weeks ahead.

In the Sky team for the Tour, only Edvald Boasson Hagen and Bernhard Eisel will be especially dedicated to leading out the Manx towards the line while the others will mainly look after overall favourite Bradley Wiggins.

As a result, Cavendish also made it clear he would not hesitate to sacrifice the defence of his green jersey to help Wiggins in the last week of the Tour.

At the same time, the break-up of the Columbia team and the emergence of up-and-coming sprinters eager to challenge will make stage finishes possibly even more hard-fought than usual.

Australians Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw, the lead-out man for Cavendish in the past, are among the men out to topple Cavendish from his position as the world’s fastest rider in the last stretch.

Germans Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel, veteran Italian Alessandro Petacchi, Spaniards Joaquin Rojas and Oscar Freire and American Tyler Farrar will also be in the mix.

However, it would still be a surprise if the Team Sky sprinter leaves the Tour empty handed. Cavendish is also a fine tactician and his modest approach could be deceptive. – Reuters

SOUTH Africa’s next tier of Proteas players, the A-side, take on Sri Lanka A in the first four-day match of the visitors’ tour starting in Durban on Saturday.

High Performance coach Vincent Barnes is in charge of the squad, alongside captain Faf du Plessis.

“It’s an important tour for a lot of these cricketers,” Barnes said.

“If they want to play for South Africa at the highest level, this is where they need to put in the performances. It is not only about the individuals.

“As a team we want to go out there and play good cricket. It’s not often that we have quality international opponents to compete against, and this is an opportunity for the players to test their skills.”

The squad have been training at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria for the past week, focusing on fitness, mental aspects of the game and the strategy for the upcoming series.

Dean Elgar, a player who has consistently excelled for the Knights, will have another opportunity to stake his claim for national honours after missing out on his opportunity against the touring Sri Lankans early this year because of a knee injury.

“We’ve had a very good week together. We have prepared really well,” Elgar said.

“This tour is massive for us. It’s great that the A-side is being given these kind of opportunities against international counterparts and it gives players like us the drive and motivation to do well because we are striving to play for South Africa one day.”

The teams will play two fourday matches in Durban, followed by a one-day triangular series also featuring Zimbabwe A to be played in Harare.

Confident that he can restore harmony to the Cape Cobras, Paul Adams will head a new leadership trio at the Western Cape Cricket (WCC) franchise.

The 35-year-old former Proteas left-arm spin bowler will be the head coach and 40-year-old Salieg Nackerdien will be the technical coach.

Adams replaces Richard Pybus, who resigned four months ago after the players formally lodged a complaint with the Cobras’ hierarchy about his management style.

“I’ve been part of the Cobras’ structures both as a player and coach for many seasons and I have a good understanding of what is needed to have the players performing to the best of their ability,” Adams said.

“I have a responsibility to provide an environment in which the players will thrive and keep growing.”

Adams said he would heed the advice of the experienced players in the group whenever the need arose.

“I know people have questioned my transition from a player to head coach of the Cape Cobras, but I’ve been part of the family for 17 years,” said Adams.

“I’ve been in the Cobras’ coaching structure for the past three years and there has been a good working relationship.

“We’ve reached a stage where we want to drive the franchise into a new era, and with the support and structures that have been put in place, I feel we can take the Cobras to a new level.

“Winning is vitally important and we must ensure that Cobras start winning championships again.”

Justin Ontong will captain the franchise, a position he previously occupied four years ago, when he returned to Cape Town from the Lions.

“There will be no problem for the players co-operating with Paul,” said Ontong.

“We have many experienced players who will help when needed and collectively we see every chance of the team moving to a higher level.”

Another appointment was the franchise vice-captain Dane Vilas, 27, a wicketkeeper who is challenging for Proteas honours.

WCC chief executive André Odendaal said Joburg-born Vilas had shown great improvement over the past year.

“Dane has shown leadership qualities and we see in him a role for the future,” Odendaal said.

“He’s really improved since he’s been in Cape Town.” – Sapa