Chris Froome will kick off his 2016 season campaign at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour starting tomorrow.
The two-time Tour de France champion is set to make a comparatively more low-key debut at the race with major targets in a Tour title defence and the Rio Olympic Games coming in quick succession later in the year.
Froome has acclimatised to the time zone and summer conditions training in Adelaide, South Australia with Sky head of athlete performance Tim Kerrison for a stint last month.
The 30-year-old has now joined teammates in Melbourne, Victoria ahead of the five day race that begins Wednesday with a 2.1km prologue in the city centre.
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“It’s been almost five months now since my last race so I’m not too sure what to expect,” he said in a press conference today.
“Training has gone well throughout the winter and I’ve had a good block of training down in Adelaide with some of the guys from the Tour Down Under.
“This week will be a good test for me to see just where I’m at.”
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Froome will race alongside teammates including Peter Kennaugh, who won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday, as well as Luke Rowe, Sebastian Henao, Salvatore Puccio and Ian Boswell.
“I think we’ve got a great team here, a strong line-up of guys, who can be competitive throughout the race. With any luck we could be looking at the overall victory,” he said.
