Davis lays out schedule, targets

By Shane Stokes

Morale boosted by his dominant win in the Tour Down Under, Allan Davis (Quick Step) is back in Spain and honing his form prior to Milano-Sanremo. He is likely to resume racing in the Giro della Provincia di Grosseto, running from February 13 - 15, then ride the Tour du Haut Var and Tirreno-Adriatico.

The initial part of his season is based around targeting selected one day events. "The first objective for me is Milano-Sanremo," he said. "Then I have got some other objectives that I haven't done in the past, but that I'd like to concentrate on for the rest of my career. The Amstel Gold race, for one, and Flèche Wallonne. As I get older, I think I'm more suited to that race as well."

After that, his focus will turn to the three-week races. "I am also definitely down for the Giro so I will be looking for a stage win there," he said. "Then we will see what happens for the Tour. Bearing in mind that Tom Boonen is in the team as well, I'll be giving 100 percent for him when we are in races together. But I might get my chance somewhere."

Davis ruled out aiming for a win in the UCI Road World Championships this year. He said that he expects the course to be too tough for him, but that he'd be happy to ride for fellow Australians Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers.