Greg gunning for fast start

Greg Henderson is looking for Team Sky to put down an early marker at the Tour Down Under.

Sprinting showdown at Tour Down Under

Greg Henderson is looking for Team Sky to put down an early marker at the Tour Down Under.

The Adelaide race, which starts with the Cancer Council Helpline Classic on Sunday, is the team's pro debut on the road.

Henderson heads a seven-man line-up which also features Aussies Chris Sutton and Mathew Hayman, Brits Russell Downing, Chris Froome and Ben Swift and Italian Davide Viganò.

Plenty of focus will be on Henderson after his superb displays in 2009 and a bright start to this year at the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic in Geelong where, riding for the Mazda team, he won the second race and finished second overall behind new colleague Sutton.

And the Kiwi sprinter can't wait for his debut in Team Sky colours, saying: "What we want to do here is put Team Sky on the pro cycling map and say 'this is what Team Sky is about and this is how we ride'.

Respect

"We're a professional unit and we do everything together. We want to gain respect from the whole peloton from the very first race."

And as to how they'll achieve that, Henderson explains: "We don't necessarily have to earn that respect by winning every single bike race, there are so many other ways to do it.

"It's about being professional on and off the bike as a team unit. We take pride in ourselves, pride in our appearance, and even the little things are important, like being courteous to the other riders. We're not going to go out there with big heads and think we're the big, bad new Team Sky - get out of our way. We're going to race with respect, but race hard."

And Henderson is relishing being in the thick of the action, saying: "If I can get up for a stage win in the Tour Down Under then I will be really happy. The team are not putting a ton of pressure on me, which is nice, although I am doing that myself.

"Ideally I would like to try and get up the Willunga Hill both times too [in the fifth stage, next Saturday]. If I can do that then I should be able to do a pretty good GC as well. It's all depending on that penultimate stage, because I know I should be there or thereabouts every other day."

Sprint showdown

The Tour Down Under continues to go from strength to strength, attracting a stellar line up this year, as Henderson acknowledged.

"If you go through the start list there's nobody really missing," he said. Because it's such a sprinters' tour, everyone sends one of their top sprinters. You name it, every team has got a fast guy here.

"We were talking about it the other day. You could have the perfect lead-out and the best sprint but still finish seventh because you've got six of the best sprinters in the world in front of you.

"It's really the who's who of bunch sprinting. You've got André Greipel, you've got Robbie McEwen, who has won 12 stages of the Tour de France. Add to that people like Gert Steegmans, JJ Haedo - and I could go on. It's brilliant for the fans and brilliant for the riders."

And Henderson is delighted at just how well Team Sky are gelling in Adelaide, saying: "The big thing I've noticed already is there aren't any egos. Everyone here has respect for each other and that goes a long way and it will show through the season - it makes a massive difference.

"We've bonded really quickly and really well too. Everyone is looking in great shape, even the guys in Europe who have been training in the snow and rain. I don't know how they do it but they're in great condition, so it looks good."