Team Sky fans may have to wait until the Tour de France to see Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish racing together next year, Wiggins revealed yesterday.
Speaking from the team's Majorca training camp, Wiggins confirmed his schedule for 2012, which roughly replicates this year's programme.
Crucially, the difference in targets next year means that the pair won't meet until they spearhead Sky's two-pronged attack at the Tour.
"I won't see Mark until the Tour," he said. "He's on a completely different programme."
Asked if he believes that the team can target both the yellow and green jerseys, Wiggins replied: "I don't know, we'll find out at the end of July.
"I've not really thought about it to be honest. The team would've thought about it and they'll have the strategy to make that happen but I've not got that far. We're still talking about the world championships to be honest."
Follow the leader: Wiggins has his own early season targets
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Proven formula
He will sit out his traditional season start in Qatar, instead opting for the Tour of the Algarve. Paris-Nice and the Tour of Catalonia follow soon after.
Despite having ridden Milan-San Remo, Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix in 2011, Wiggins looks set to give one-day races a wide berth. The same applies to the Giro d'Italia (a race he last rode in 2010), which earlier this year he said he would never take part in again.
Instead he will start the Tour of Romandy, the Critérium du Dauphiné - the scene of his biggest road victory to date - and then onto the Tour.
He will stick to his strategy of not analysing every stage of the race, instead focusing on only a handful of potentially decisive days.
"I've kept away from all that [studying the route] to be honest. It's still December, it doesn't really change what I do between now and the start of the season.
"I've said before, to know the Tour de France route at this stage...there's no benefit," Wiggins added.
How their paths "cross"
Cavendish - Tour of Qatar (February 5-10)
Cavendish - Tour of Oman (February 14-19)
Wiggins - Tour of the Algarve (February 15-19)
Wiggins - Paris-Nice (March 4-11)
Cavendish - Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7-13)
Cavendish - Milan San Remo (March 17)
Wiggins - Tour of Catalonia (March 19-25)
Cavendish - Ghent-Wevelgem (March 25)
Cavendish - Scheldeprijs (April 4)
Wiggins - Tour of Romandy (April 24-29)
Cavendish - Giro d'Italia (May 5-27)
Wiggins - Critérium du Dauphiné (June 3-10)
Cavendish- Tour de Suisse (June 9-17)
BOTH - Tour de France (June 30-July 22)
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Nick Bull is an NCTJ qualified journalist who has written for a range of titles, as well as being a freelance writer at Beat Media Group, which provides reports for the PA Media wire which is circulated to the likes of the BBC and Eurosport. His work at Cycling Weekly predominantly dealt with professional cycling, and he now holds a role as PR & Digital Manager at SweetSpot Group, which organises the Tour of Britain.
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