Says Sky will find the right balance between his and Bradley Wiggins’ Tour ambitions
World road race champion Mark Cavendish has big targets for next summer, namely aiming to win both the green jersey in the Tour de France and the gold medal in the Olympic Games, and has conceded that it will be a tough task to ride strongly in both events.
There will be just six days between the final stage of the Tour in Paris and the Olympic road race in London. That gives little time to recover, but he’s just going to get on with it and hope things work out.
“You have to say it’s not ideal, but it will be the same for all the riders,” he told the Telegraph. “It’s going to be a hard race to control. But the way we ran the Worlds, we can be one of the favourites. And being on home soil will be the bigger motivation.”
Cavendish’s determination to stay in the Tour de France right up to the end could differ to that of some of his rivals, who may decide to head home early if they feel that it is advantageous for them to do so. Still, he tends to hit targets more often than missing them, and so he’s willing to be ambitious.
One advantage is that he will be with several of the same riders in both events. He’s signed for Sky Procycling and will have several months of racing with those colleagues by the time he and the British contingent head to the Games.
That means his support structure and leadout train should be finely tuned, something which could be crucial towards the end of the Olympic event.
“I kind of always felt I would end up with them,” Cavendish said, speaking about his move to the team. “It’s logical. It’s the best team, it has got the best back-up and it’ll be good to ride with guys who I will ride with at the Olympics. For British cycling, it’s the right move.”
One difference between his current HTC Highroad team and Sky is that he will have to share centre stage with Bradley Wiggins, who will be aiming to try to win the race. The dual task is a very difficult one for a team due to the workload and different characteristics that both roles require of the support riders. Still, he believes the right balance will be struck.
“You’ll have to ask Dave Brailsford,” he said, referring to the team’s principal. “But listen, I wouldn’t have joined them if I didn’t think it was possible.”
Cavendish recently returned from a holiday abroad and is now back training again. He’ll build his condition between now and the start of the season, then start chasing what he aims to be many wins with his new squad.