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Team Sky has announced its team for next month’s Tour of Britain, starting on 11 September in Peebles, Scotland.

 

Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift, both members of Team Sky’s successful 2011 Tour de France squad, will be joined by fellow British riders Peter Kennaugh and Alex Dowsett.  The experienced Australian duo, Michael Rogers and Mathew Hayman, will round out the six-man team. 

 

Dave Brailsford, Team Sky Principal, commented:

 

“This is a strong and exciting team for the Tour of Britain.  After a hugely successful season on the roads of Europe and beyond, it is really exciting to be racing in front of our home fans and we will be looking to repay the great support they have given the team all year.”

“The squad features a great mix of young and experienced riders that will be well equipped to deal with the race’s challenges. Team Sky was created to give British talent a chance at the elite end of racing and in Geraint, Ben, Alex and Peter we have four of this country’s most exciting professionals. They have shown all season with their results that they can ride and compete with the world’s best cyclists.  Alongside them will be the hugely experienced Michael Rogers and Mathew Hayman – riders who have performed at Grand Tour level on numerous occasions. We have a really exciting team and can’t wait for 11 September.”

Geraint Thomas, Team Sky rider, commented:

 

“The Tour of Britain is a great race and this will be my sixth appearance. It is always exciting to ride in front of our home fans. The support we have had on the road all year has been amazing and has played a big part in the success we have achieved as a team. We can’t wait to put on a good show for them. It’s going to be a great week of racing.”

 

Ben Swift, Team Sky rider, commented:

 

”I am looking forward to racing my home Tour again particularly as it is where I secured my first professional win in 2009. There will be some tough opposition this year with a number of star riders appearing, but we have a really exciting team with a real depth to it. The team is riding well and full of confidence and we can’t wait to get going.”

You can follow the team throughout the Tour of Britain at 

www.TeamSky.com

 

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Team Profiles

Alex Dowsett

 

The introduction of a time trial into this year's route plays right into the hands of Alex Dowsett. An already impressive neo-pro season hit new heights when he claimed his first victory on the final stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes in France last week and the 22-year-old will look to continue his fine run of form in his home race.

 

Mathew Hayman

 

A member of last year's Tour of Britain squad, Mathew Hayman returns to the UK once again to deliver his own unique brand of punishment to the peloton. A powerful and experienced rider, the Australian will marshal the team out on the road and will be called into action to close down breakaways and add firepower to lead-outs.

 

Peter Kennaugh

 

The 22-year-old Manxman enjoyed a great first season as a professional with Team Sky last year and has gone from strength-to-strength in 2011. Kennaugh earned himself a place on the podium at the Route du Sud and also claimed a top-five finish in the Tour of Poland earlier this month. His all-round ability will be a huge asset to the team.

 

Michael Rogers

 

Michael is one of the most successful and well-respected riders in the peloton.  With three World Championship titles to his name, the 31-year-old will be looking to impress in the time trial, whilst also helping lead the team on the road.

 

Ben Swift

 

The young sprinter returns to the Tour of Britain for the first time since his stage-winning appearance in 2009. Then riding for Katusha, Swift won stage seven into Yeovil, his first victory as a professional. The 23-year-old has seen his career take off in the last two years, racking up seven wins in Team Sky colours and will no doubt be hungry for more on home roads.

 

Geraint Thomas

 

Having ridden in the last five editions of the race, Geraint Thomas' career has grown exponentially and seen him develop into one of the most accomplished all-rounders in the peloton. With a stage race victory already under his belt this season at Bayern-Rundfahrt, the 2010 British National Champion will hope to fight for top honours at his home race.

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Starting in the first hour of racing at the Eneco Tour on Friday proved to be just the ticket for Team RadioShack’s Jesse Sergent who stormed the 14.7km/9.1mi course in Roermond, Netherlands to take his third win of the season.  Sergent (23) rode the technical course in mostly dry conditions to post an early time to beat that held up throughout the stage.  An untimely flat yesterday was bad luck for Jesse Sergent, knocking him out of contention for the overall,  but the New Zealand native channeled his forces to turn things around in Friday’s individual time trial.  

“I did not expect this at all,” said Jesse Sergent after his stage victory.  “After my 7th place in the opening prologue, my confidence was up and I was hoping for a top 5 today.  But my back luck of yesterday became my good luck today. I only had 2K on wet roads.”

Sergent’s win marks the 24th victory this season for Team RadioShack.  In addition, Team RadioShack lead in the Teams competition for the general classification and team rider Ben Hermans holds the ninth spot on the overall.  The race lead is currently held by Norwegian Edvald Boaddon Hagen of Team Sky.  Racing continues through Sunday.  

Team Director Dirk Demol evaluated Sergent’s performance, saying, “Jesse did an almost perfect TT.  He was faster than specialists like Alex Rasmussen who did his TT in the same circumstances as Jesse.  I think he only misjudged the final corner – he was going so fast.” Sergent averaged  49.2 km/h (30.6 mi/h). 

“It’s hard for me to say what kind of time trial I prefer,” continued Sergent. “I was excellent (2nd) in the Tour of Austria on a 30 K flat course without corners.  But today was very technical and I won, so I don’t know.”

While no stranger to the bike, this is Jesse’s  first year as a professional road cyclist.  In the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sergent won the bronze medal as part of the New Zealand team in team pursuit. Later that year he signed with Trek-Livestrong for the 2009 and 2010 cycling seasons.  In August of 2010 Sergent became a stagiere for Team RadioShack and signed his first professional contract for the 2011 season. Earlier this year Sergent won the Prologue in Three Days of West Flanders as well as the overall classification. 

“Jesse comes from the track,” said Dirk Demol.  “We take care to not burn him out.  Even in 2010 with Trek-Livestrong he didn’t do too many road races.  This year after a strong spring season, along with a silver medal in the men’s individual pursuit at the Track World Championships in March, he took a break after Paris-Roubaix.  He then came back to racing in Luxemburg and Wallonie.”  

“Eneco was my first goal for part-two of my season.  I feel good for the upcoming races.  I’ll race at Poitou-Charentes and Plouay,” Sergent said, referring to one-day races in France and Belgium.  “Then hopefully the world championships in Copenhagen, too.”

Top Ten Results:
1 Jesse Sergent (Team RadioShack)  0:17:55;  2 Alex Rasmussen 00:14;  3 Jurgen Roelandts 00:20;  4 Vladimir Isaichev 00:27;  5 Lars Boom:  6 Jens Mouris 00:30;  7 Maarten Tjalingii;  8 Taylor Phinney;  9 Edvald Boasson Hagen 00:32;  10 Bert Grabsch 00:34
General Classification after stage 4:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen 14:49:06;  2 Philippe Gilbert 00:12;  3 David Millar 00:18;  4 Taylor Phinney 00:27;  5 Jos van Emden 00:47;  6 Joost van Leijen 00:54;  7 Dominique Cornu 00:57;  8 Dries Devenyns 00:58;  9 Ben Hermans (Team RadioShack) 00:59;  10 Linus Gerdemann 01:23