Owain Doull back in Team Sky squad for season finale in Abu Dhabi

Elia Viviani will look for sprint victories at the four-day stage race with Doull in support

Owain Doull, under-23 men's winner, British Road National Championships 2015
(Image credit: Andy Jones)

Owain Doull will make his second 2016 appearance for Team Sky at the Abu Dhabi Tour this Thursday lining up in support of sprinter Elia Viviani.

Doull made his debut for the team at the beginning of October at the semi-Classic Paris-Tours, where he played the role of final leadout man for Italian Viviani.

The 23-year-old's move to Sky from Team Wiggins was only confirmed in August, having spent the lion's share of the year preparing for the team pursuit on the track at the Olympic Games, where he won gold alongside Bradley Wiggins, Ed Clancy and Steven Burke.

Doull will start his first full season with Sky in 2017, but will first head to Abu Dhabi in search of some results before the season comes to an end.

"After Rio and specifically the Tour of Britain I've knuckled down a lot, been training quite hard, and it was nice to see that pay off [at Paris-Tours]," the Welshman said after his debut.

"I'm in a bit better shape on the road now. I'm looking forward to the Abu Dhabi Tour and racing with the lads again. It was great to be racing with guys like Elia, Luke [Rowe], [Ian] Stannard for the first time and Elia will be out in Abu Dhabi as well."

Doull lines-up alongside one other Brit Andy Fenn, with Irishman Nicolas Roche also set to feature in his final appearance for the team before heading to BMC for 2017.

Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski will also appear, after a debut season at Sky that started promisingly with victory at E3 Harelbeke seemed to go awry for the Pole. Dutchman Danny van Poppel completes the six-man line-up.

The Abu Dhabi Tour begins on October 20 with a flat stage, with the general classification to be decided on the only mountain stage of the tour on stage three, with the summit finish to Jebel Hafeet.

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Richard Windsor

Follow on Twitter: @richwindy


Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.


An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).