John Degenkolb was set to lead Giant-Alpecin at the Dubai Tour and the Tour of Qatar but after his big crash in Spain, the German team has been forced to change its plans.

The third edition of the Dubai Tour begins Wednesday. The four stages all start in the city of Dubai and range in length from 132km to 188km. Team Giant-Alpecin will be heading to Dubai with a mixed team with a lot of experience as well as young talents, including Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (NOR), who will participate in his first race for the team.

Morten Bennekou, who is making his debut as a coach for Team Giant-Alpecin, said: “We had to change our plans and lineup because of the training accident. We don’t have a clear favorite for the sprints, but with Koen, Bert and Roy we will have strong and fast guys to aim for good stage results. We will need to race attentively and take advantage of any chances we get.”

Following the ladies edition of the Tour of Qatar, which starts today and runs through Friday, the men’s edition will take place from Monday through Friday. This year’s race consists of five stages: four flat stages and one 11.4km individual time trial on the Lusail Circuit, on day three.

“Our aim is to go for stage results,” said coach Marc Reef . “Except for Cheng, the Tour of Qatar will be the first race of the year for the guys, and they are eager to kick off the season. For Søren it will be his first race for the team. There is always a potential role for the wind in Qatar, because of the open sections of the route, so we will take the race day by day and see what it brings us.”

Line-up for the Dubai Tour

Roy Curvers (NED)
Bert De Backer (BEL)
Caleb Fairly (USA)
Carter Jones (USA)
Koen de Kort (NED)
Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (NOR)

Line-up for the Tour of Qatar

Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)
Cheng Ji (CHN)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Zico Waeytens (BEL)