Rogers had been hopeful about his participation at the Dubai Tour but tweeted on Friday morning that the heart data from the opening two stages had forced him to call it quits. Rogers spoke to Cyclingnews in Dubai earlier this week, stating his desire to have one more Tour de France.
Tour of Britain expected to head to Devon
The route of the 2016 Tour of Britain is yet to be announced but local newspaper Exeter Express and Echo has reported that the race is due to return to Devon and the city itself. The paper reports that the race, which will take place between September 4 to 11, will pay a visit to the region for the decisive stage 6.
The Tour of Britain last visited Devon in 2014 with a stage from Exmouth to Exeter. The stage was won from the break by Mattias Brändle. The Tour of Britain missed out the South West of England completely last year, spending much of its time in the north and in Scotland. The 2015 race was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen.
The newspaper also reports that the stage is likely to play a key role in the race with a summit finish expected. Exactly where the finish is due to be is yet to be revealed.
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Cyclingnews contacted the race organisers, who said, “The Tour of Britain route will be launched at the end of February, so until then there’s no official news on this year’s stages.”
Dimension Data set-up Continental team
BMC back Van Avermaet for the Tour of Qatar
Greg Van Avermaet will take leadership of the BMC team at the Tour of Qatar, which is due to start next week. The Middle Eastern race will be Van Avermaet’s first race of the season, the fourth consecutive time that the Belgian has so.
Van Avermaet will be using the race, which is known for its challenging crosswinds, as preparation for his classics campaign, which is due to begin at the end of February.
"I'm ready to race. You train for a reason and that's racing, so it's good to be lining up for my first race of the season at the Tour of Qatar. It's a great race in terms of preparing for the Classics with the wind and the speed."
BMC directeur sportif Fabio Bataldo said, "Greg is the team leader and 100% our priority going into the race, but this kind of racing also allows the riders to find other opportunities so I think we can have Oss and Drucker up there in the sprints, as well focusing our attention on the GC."
Joining Van Avermaet will be, Tom Bohli, Jempy Drucker, Michael Schär, Daniel Oss, Manuel Quinziato, Joey Rosskopf, Greg Van Avermaet and Rick Zabel.
