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Mark Cavendish: ‘I’ve never taken the Tour for granted. I missed it so much’ Mark Cavendish: ‘I’ve never taken the Tour for granted. I missed it so much’
(1 day later)
Britain’s former Tour de France green jersey and world road race champion Mark Cavendish has stepped back in time this week to follow old-school greats such as Eddy Merckx and Fausto Coppi by riding the Six-Days, the last vestiges of the once thriving European winter track racing calendar, to build form for the next year’s road race season. In Cavendish’s case, that is given greater urgency by two factors: he’s racing on the road in just eight weeks and he missed a vital part of 2014 due to a dramatic first-day crash in the Tour de France.Britain’s former Tour de France green jersey and world road race champion Mark Cavendish has stepped back in time this week to follow old-school greats such as Eddy Merckx and Fausto Coppi by riding the Six-Days, the last vestiges of the once thriving European winter track racing calendar, to build form for the next year’s road race season. In Cavendish’s case, that is given greater urgency by two factors: he’s racing on the road in just eight weeks and he missed a vital part of 2014 due to a dramatic first-day crash in the Tour de France.
On Sunday the Manxman and his partner Iljo Keisse finished a close-run second in the Ghent Six after five frenetic nights and one afternoon, belting around de Kuipke – or “the hipbath” – as Ghent’s tiny, vertiginous bowl is known. At 167m it is roughly two-thirds the size of a standard indoor velodrome, a hard place to ride even for someone who has raced here before. On Sunday the Manxman and his partner Iljo Keisse finished a close-run second in the Ghent Six after five frenetic nights and one afternoon, belting around ’t Kuipke – or “the hipbath” – as Ghent’s tiny, vertiginous bowl is known. At 167m it is roughly two-thirds the size of a standard indoor velodrome, a hard place to ride even for someone who has raced here before.
“It took me 20 minutes to settle down from being dizzy,” Cavendish said after an initial training session. In the battle with eventual winners Jasper De Buyst and Kenny De Ketele, Cavendish’s lack of track racing – in recent years at least – counted against him, although the pair held the lead going into Sunday’s final session. “It took me three or four days to get into a good rhythm,” he added. “I was trying to get my track legs back. We couldn’t pick up the points early on that the other guys did, and it put us on the back foot, chasing all week.”“It took me 20 minutes to settle down from being dizzy,” Cavendish said after an initial training session. In the battle with eventual winners Jasper De Buyst and Kenny De Ketele, Cavendish’s lack of track racing – in recent years at least – counted against him, although the pair held the lead going into Sunday’s final session. “It took me three or four days to get into a good rhythm,” he added. “I was trying to get my track legs back. We couldn’t pick up the points early on that the other guys did, and it put us on the back foot, chasing all week.”
Cavendish and Keisse continued their winter campaign on Thursday in the four-day “Six Day Nights” meeting in Zurich. This brief foray into the Sixes is a new departure for Cavendish, who was a regular on the circuit as an amateur; until Ghent he had never raced a Six-Day as a professional.Cavendish and Keisse continued their winter campaign on Thursday in the four-day “Six Day Nights” meeting in Zurich. This brief foray into the Sixes is a new departure for Cavendish, who was a regular on the circuit as an amateur; until Ghent he had never raced a Six-Day as a professional.
When you realise that the total distance covered each day can be up to 100km, and bear in mind that pedalling speed is vital for a sprinter such as Cavendish, the benefits of riding the Sixes seem obvious, particularly with the 2015 season so close; Cavendish will kick off on 19 January in Argentina. “I had to get riding again,” he says. “I had a forced three-week break where I should have been getting the fittest I can be in the season. Ghent gave me a short-term focus so that I’m not thinking I’ve got weeks and weeks to get fit. With Zurich, it’s a good block of work.”When you realise that the total distance covered each day can be up to 100km, and bear in mind that pedalling speed is vital for a sprinter such as Cavendish, the benefits of riding the Sixes seem obvious, particularly with the 2015 season so close; Cavendish will kick off on 19 January in Argentina. “I had to get riding again,” he says. “I had a forced three-week break where I should have been getting the fittest I can be in the season. Ghent gave me a short-term focus so that I’m not thinking I’ve got weeks and weeks to get fit. With Zurich, it’s a good block of work.”
After ending his season at the Tour of Britain in late September, Cavendish took a far briefer break than usual, before putting in long spells at his training base in Tuscany, where he can ride in better weather than at his Essex home. It is all time away from his partner Peta and their daughter Delilah, but the 29-year-old says his motivation has been rebooted since the moment he hit the tarmac in Harrogate.After ending his season at the Tour of Britain in late September, Cavendish took a far briefer break than usual, before putting in long spells at his training base in Tuscany, where he can ride in better weather than at his Essex home. It is all time away from his partner Peta and their daughter Delilah, but the 29-year-old says his motivation has been rebooted since the moment he hit the tarmac in Harrogate.
“[Crashes] happen to everyone, but this was the first Tour de France I’ve missed since I turned pro,” reflects Cavendish. “I’ve never taken [the Tour] for granted, it’s just given me a new lease of life. I just missed it so much, winning more than anything, the emotional rollercoaster, the spectacle that it is. It’s bigger than cycling. It’s something you can’t put into words. It’s made me not want to retire. I wasn’t ever thinking about retiring, but you start to think of the future, this has made me completely focus on cycling again. It’s not like I’ve lost any desire, but it’s made me more intense about it.”“[Crashes] happen to everyone, but this was the first Tour de France I’ve missed since I turned pro,” reflects Cavendish. “I’ve never taken [the Tour] for granted, it’s just given me a new lease of life. I just missed it so much, winning more than anything, the emotional rollercoaster, the spectacle that it is. It’s bigger than cycling. It’s something you can’t put into words. It’s made me not want to retire. I wasn’t ever thinking about retiring, but you start to think of the future, this has made me completely focus on cycling again. It’s not like I’ve lost any desire, but it’s made me more intense about it.”
This was the most serious pile-up of Cavendish’s career but he is matter-of-fact about it. When you pick yourself up off the Tarmac, as he did in Harrogate, “it hurts, physically and emotionally but I’m a professional bike rider. I have a job to do. I can’t sit and rest because I have to get out and perform for my team as soon as possible. It was just about getting back as quickly as possible.This was the most serious pile-up of Cavendish’s career but he is matter-of-fact about it. When you pick yourself up off the Tarmac, as he did in Harrogate, “it hurts, physically and emotionally but I’m a professional bike rider. I have a job to do. I can’t sit and rest because I have to get out and perform for my team as soon as possible. It was just about getting back as quickly as possible.
“It was a grade four ligament separation – all four A/C joint ligaments were torn. The shoulder blade was sticking out. For a normal person the recovery is 12 weeks or something – six weeks in a sling before they can start physio. I was back on the bike on the turbo in 10 days – still in pain – and then it was just work, work, work trying to get to race again. It wasn’t difficult, it was just hard work. I had to work every hour of every day to get it back quick. It was time-consuming, but I had nothing else to do.”“It was a grade four ligament separation – all four A/C joint ligaments were torn. The shoulder blade was sticking out. For a normal person the recovery is 12 weeks or something – six weeks in a sling before they can start physio. I was back on the bike on the turbo in 10 days – still in pain – and then it was just work, work, work trying to get to race again. It wasn’t difficult, it was just hard work. I had to work every hour of every day to get it back quick. It was time-consuming, but I had nothing else to do.”
Cavendish’s precise plans for 2015 have yet to be detailed, but a return to the Tour de France must be on the cards. There is also speculation about a possible attempt at a second world road race title. His old mentor Rod Ellingworth, who put together the plan that took Cavendish to the rainbow jersey in Copenhagen – and is likely to look after the men’s elite road team until Rio – has his eyes on Cavendish as a possible leader in the 2015 race in Richmond, Virginia, as well as Doha in 2016.Cavendish’s precise plans for 2015 have yet to be detailed, but a return to the Tour de France must be on the cards. There is also speculation about a possible attempt at a second world road race title. His old mentor Rod Ellingworth, who put together the plan that took Cavendish to the rainbow jersey in Copenhagen – and is likely to look after the men’s elite road team until Rio – has his eyes on Cavendish as a possible leader in the 2015 race in Richmond, Virginia, as well as Doha in 2016.
Cavendish is clearly keen. “I’d like to win the Worlds again in the next couple of years [but] you have to remember that Copenhagen was four years to plan and it took a lot of everybody’s energy and time. I don’t know how it works now, especially with the majority of guys riding for Sky. I don’t know if it will work as well as it did last time.”Cavendish is clearly keen. “I’d like to win the Worlds again in the next couple of years [but] you have to remember that Copenhagen was four years to plan and it took a lot of everybody’s energy and time. I don’t know how it works now, especially with the majority of guys riding for Sky. I don’t know if it will work as well as it did last time.”
As Cavendish acknowledges, there is another British contender now in Ben Swift, who finished 12 this year: “We’ve definitely got the riders and I don’t think it’s just me who’s got the ability to be the winner out of the British team. I’d definitely like to give it a crack.”As Cavendish acknowledges, there is another British contender now in Ben Swift, who finished 12 this year: “We’ve definitely got the riders and I don’t think it’s just me who’s got the ability to be the winner out of the British team. I’d definitely like to give it a crack.”
Cavendish is more reticent when it comes to another potential target: Rio. Along with wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, an Olympic gold medal is now the only major achievement lacking from his record. Cavendish tried the Madison in Beijing but his partner Bradley Wiggins was off form, while the road race in London did not produce the sprint finish he and Ellingworth had targeted.Cavendish is more reticent when it comes to another potential target: Rio. Along with wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, an Olympic gold medal is now the only major achievement lacking from his record. Cavendish tried the Madison in Beijing but his partner Bradley Wiggins was off form, while the road race in London did not produce the sprint finish he and Ellingworth had targeted.
He could be favoured by a change in format in the track omnium, now heavily weighted towards the points race, a discipline that suits Cavendish. The new man at the helm at British Cycling, Shane Sutton, has the Manxman on his shortlist of possible candidates, and told the Guardian: “He has the potential to win the omnium. He knows my feelings and my belief in his ability, but it’s not just about me and Mark having a chat – where does this fit in his world?”He could be favoured by a change in format in the track omnium, now heavily weighted towards the points race, a discipline that suits Cavendish. The new man at the helm at British Cycling, Shane Sutton, has the Manxman on his shortlist of possible candidates, and told the Guardian: “He has the potential to win the omnium. He knows my feelings and my belief in his ability, but it’s not just about me and Mark having a chat – where does this fit in his world?”
On the one hand, Cavendish is adamant that this winter’s return to the Sixes does not mark a return to the track in the future. “It has nothing to do with Rio,” he said flatly before starting Ghent. That is backed up by the fact he will not be racing for Great Britain in the London World Cup in 10 days, or in the world championships in Paris in February.On the one hand, Cavendish is adamant that this winter’s return to the Sixes does not mark a return to the track in the future. “It has nothing to do with Rio,” he said flatly before starting Ghent. That is backed up by the fact he will not be racing for Great Britain in the London World Cup in 10 days, or in the world championships in Paris in February.
On the other hand, he is open to the possibility, but as Sutton says, it depends on how it dovetails with Omega-Pharma-Quickstep’s need for road race success.On the other hand, he is open to the possibility, but as Sutton says, it depends on how it dovetails with Omega-Pharma-Quickstep’s need for road race success.
“I’m sure I could win it if I put myself to it, but I’ve worked hard with Omega-Pharma to build a team around sprint performance, the team really look after me and do everything they can to make sure that I have what I need to win; my job is about giving back [for] their investment,” Cavendish says. “I’d like to win it, being a British athlete and the Olympics being big in Britain, but the day job comes first. It can be easily talked about. I’d just have to call [OPQS head] Patrick [Lefevere].”“I’m sure I could win it if I put myself to it, but I’ve worked hard with Omega-Pharma to build a team around sprint performance, the team really look after me and do everything they can to make sure that I have what I need to win; my job is about giving back [for] their investment,” Cavendish says. “I’d like to win it, being a British athlete and the Olympics being big in Britain, but the day job comes first. It can be easily talked about. I’d just have to call [OPQS head] Patrick [Lefevere].”
Another possible target for the future may be the one-day Classics; Cavendish has already won Milan-San Remo and was not far off a repeat victory this year, but others may be within his register. “It definitely interests me and I’m definitely in the best team to do it, the best environment to learn,” he says. “These are the races I grew up dreaming of, but at the moment we [OMP] have so many guys who can win them that it doesn’t make sense for me to go in out of desire, unless I can go and do a job.”Another possible target for the future may be the one-day Classics; Cavendish has already won Milan-San Remo and was not far off a repeat victory this year, but others may be within his register. “It definitely interests me and I’m definitely in the best team to do it, the best environment to learn,” he says. “These are the races I grew up dreaming of, but at the moment we [OMP] have so many guys who can win them that it doesn’t make sense for me to go in out of desire, unless I can go and do a job.”
Next year, the battle in the sprints in the major Tours could be enthralling, with Cavendish seemingly rejuvenated, and the star of this year’s Tour, Marcel Kittel, likely to improve. That is for the future, however; Cavendish has never liked discussing potential rivals. “It’s the same as always, regardless of who’s there,” he insists. “I just want to win. It doesn’t matter who I’m beating. I just keep looking at it like that.”Next year, the battle in the sprints in the major Tours could be enthralling, with Cavendish seemingly rejuvenated, and the star of this year’s Tour, Marcel Kittel, likely to improve. That is for the future, however; Cavendish has never liked discussing potential rivals. “It’s the same as always, regardless of who’s there,” he insists. “I just want to win. It doesn’t matter who I’m beating. I just keep looking at it like that.”
• This article was amended on 27 November 2014 to correct the spelling of ’t Kuipke.