Cycylingnews.com is touting Columbia-High Road’s Mark Cavendish as the man to beat Wednesday in the spring classic Gent-Wevelgem and who is ol’ 10 Speed to argue.

Cavendish, who won three stages at the Tour of Missouri last year, has seven wins under his belt this season, including the monstrous Milano-Sanremo classic. Gent-Wevelgem is primarilty flat, which suits sprinters such as Cavendish.

Big Tom Bonnen of Quick Step will give Cavendish a ride for his money, as will the Cervelo TestTeam boys — Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler, second on Sunday in the Tour of Flanders.

Other riders to watch include: American Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Slipstream, Filippo Pozzato and Daniele Bennati of Liquigas, and former Cavendish lead-out man Gerald Ciolek of Milram.

One intriguing rider to watch is Ivan Dominguez of Fuji-Servetto. A winner of two stages at the inugural Tour of Missouri and a U.S. domestic series star, Dominguez is competing in Europe on the UCI circuit for the first time. 

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