Beware the Gorilla: Andre Greipel Readies for Santos Tour Down Under Assault

Andre Greipel had an amazing 2009 season but was overshadowed by his teammate Mark Cavendish. The big German tore up the professional ranks throughout the year, and he'll head into 2010 looking for even more wins than 2009. First on his list is the Santos Tour Down Under, where he'll take the start line as a heavy favorite for both the overall and stage wins.

Greipel is playing down his chances at overall victory at the TDU, but don't let his rhetoric fool you. A good sprinter like Greipel doesn't come into a given race thinking about anything else than victory. Greipel will be highly motivated to exact revenge after having crashed out of the TDU last season. And with Mark Cavendish not racing the first Pro Tour race of 2010, Greipel will enjoy full team support from his Columbia teammates.

If Greipel takes top honors in Australia, it will be interesting to see how his relationship with Mark Cavendish develops. On any other team Greipel would be the unquestioned team leader in sprint oriented races, but with Cavendish the picture becomes clouded. Cavendish proved last year that he is the fastest man on two wheels, while Greipel showed his class as an elite sprinter in his own right with his solid 2009 effort. If Greipel can win three or more stages and the overall title Down Under, than he'll have a legitimate argument to lead the team in bigger races later in the year.

Cavendish meanwhile will assume that he is the unquestioned leader for Columbia at every race he enters, and would likely refuse to cede leadership responsibilities to Greipel in any race, much less a grand tour or classic. Columbia owner Bob Stapleton will have his hands full managing what could fast become a tenuoius situation between the two fast men. For now though all is quiet as Greipel looks to lay the foundation to a great season, beginning at the Santos Tour Down Under in a week's time.