Endura in at the deep end at Tour of the Med

Endura Racing team 2010

Rob Hayles remembers the Tour of the Mediterranean well. It was his first race as a professional with the Cofidis team in 2001. Tomorrow (Wednesday) his Endura Racing team makes its European debut at the same event and Hayles knows it's a step into the deep end.

Hayles was 28, a relative latecomer to the professional ranks, and although an Olympic medallist with experience of European stage racing, this was a step up. "I remember we were all sat in the bus before the start and the team manager said 'Okay lads, off you go'. I thought 'Is that it? Off we go?'"

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Sports journalist Lionel Birnie has written professionally for Sunday Times, Procycling and of course Cycling Weekly. He is also an author, publisher, and co-founder of The Cycling Podcast. His first experience covering the Tour de France came in 1999, and he has presented The Cycling Podcast with Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe since 2013. He founded Peloton Publishing in 2010 and has ghostwritten and published the autobiography of Sean Kelly, as well as a number of other sports icons.