Doull Focussed On World Tour Debut Down Under With Team Sky

Owain Doull is relishing the prospect of making his World Tour debut for Team Sky at the Tour Down Under.

The Welshman will have key roles to play as Sky chase victory in the seven day race which starts on Sunday.

Doull will be joined by fellow Cardiff-born team-mates Geraint Thomas – who is looking for the overall title – and Luke Rowe.

The 23-year-old, who has been preparing in Australia for over a week, said: “I’ve been out here with a good group and got a lot of work done.

“From what the guys have said, WorldTour is a big step in terms of racing, so I’m not too sure what to expect.

“But we’ve got a strong team across the board with Danny van Poppel for the sprints and then Sergio Henao and Geraint for the GC.”

Doull won Olympic team pursuit gold in Rio before his move from Team WIGGINS to Sky was confirmed for this season.

And Doull, speaking to cyclingnews.com, added: ”My job will be a bit of everything, really.

“I’ll be there to help out Danny on the flatter stages. I’ll be leading him out and then on the hiller days I’ll be helping out the Henao with water bottles and general domestique duties.

“There will be something to do every day. I’ll be Danny’s last man, and I know we’ve not had a lot of time to work on that, but I’m the best suited here to help him.”

Doull’s main focus will be the Classics in the sprint though he is set to team-up with three-time Tour de France champ Chris Froome when he defends his Herald Sun Tour title in Australia next month.

He added: ”It’s going to be hard making the team for the big races but that’s my target for the first part of the year.
“I want to do a good job for the team there and that’s what I wanted to really focus on in my first year in the Classics.

“That’s what I was better at as an amateur but I know that it’s different when stepping up to the World Tour. This is a good starting point though.”