Cavendish to lock horns with Greipel at Tour Down Under

MARK Cavendish looks set for an intriguing clash with former understudy Andre Greipel having confirmed his participation in Australia's Tour Down Under in January.

HEAD TO HEAD: Mark Cavendish will lock horns with former understudy Andre Greipel at the Tour Down Under in January

The 25-year-old Manxman will line up for his HTC Highroad team in the first major race of the pro tour calendar, returning Down Under having been forced to pull out during the World Road Race Championships in Geelong last month.

Also competing in the race will be seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and American sprint rival Tyler Farrar but his sprinting duel with Germany's Greipel will be most eye-catching.

"It's going to be great to watch Cavendish and Greipel go head-to-head in Adelaide," said Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur. "They are superb sprinters and it will be fascinating to see who will come out on top."

Cavendish has won 15 Tour de France stage wins in the last three years, five in the Giro d'Italia while he won the overall points jersey in this year's Vuelta a Espana with four victories.

His sprinting prowess and his take-no-prisoners attitude makes him few friends in the peleton however and he reportedly fell out Greipel, who has now moved to Omega Pharma-Lotto.

Cavendish also hit the headlines on the eve of the Commonwealth Games by claiming he was being ‘abused' by his team, claiming he was unhappy with the terms of his contract.