Mark Cavendish is raring to go as he begins his preparation for the 2012 season with Team Sky.
World Champion raring to go
With a new chapter in his career in Team Sky colours set to begin,
Skysports.com caught up with Mark Cavendish for an update on his off-season and a look ahead to 2012.
The Manxman has had a year to remember, claiming a long-awaited green jersey at the Tour de France in a season which culminated in World Championship glory in Copenhagen – the first for a British male rider since 1965.
After announcing his move to the British Team Sky squad for 2012, Cavendish has another big season ahead of him including a home Olympic Games in London.
With preparations for one of the biggest years of his career set to begin in earnest, Cavendish admitted that despite enjoying his brief time off the bike, pre-season training beckons.
He said: “I’ll go back into training now. The season starts in January and I’ve already had a good two or three weeks off so it’s time to get going again.
“It’s been nice to have a bit of time off the bike during the off-season. I’ve been on holiday to Dubai with my girlfriend Peta and her son so that was a nice relaxing time. Now I’ve got to get back into things.”
New challenge
With a new season inching ever closer the 26-year-old will prepare to join the ranks of Team Sky, a squad that “Cav” has frequently gone toe-to-toe with during their first two seasons in the sport.
The switch marks the first time in the pro ranks in which Cavendish has ridden for a team not run by Highroad Sports, yet with the prospect of linking up with old friends in store, the rider admits he is raring to go.
He added: “I’m really super excited for next season with Team Sky. I met with them the other week and there’s a great group of people there. I’m so excited to get started.
“Obviously I’ve got a lot of my old team-mates there. Most of the peloton are my ex-team-mates with people going through HTC-Highroad. But there are lads I grew up with, management I grew up with and a structure that I know. It’s almost like going home.”
Despite the need for a new lead-out train in 2012, Cavendish doesn’t believe the change will be an issue, explaining: “I don’t think we really need to build up too much because we all know each other anyway. We rode the World Championships and we rode like we’ve been riding all year together. It’s just about having a trust in each other and we certainly have that.”
Olympic year
With the Tour de France and the Olympics arriving back-to-back next July, Cavendish is looking to tailor his season towards peaking for that all-important month.
On the challenge ahead he said: “It’s going to be a long month. Obviously I’m going to have to stay in form a week after the Tour de France. The good thing is that most of the guys who are favourites for the Olympics will go and ride the Tour. So it’s not like I’m on the back foot. But to keep the fitness through three weeks and then to take a week, and on one day hit form is quite a strain on the body, so I’m going to have to try and get everything perfect there.
“The Olympics are a big aim next year at home in London. I’d still like to do Gent-Wevelgem as I haven’t won that yet. Other than that I’ve just got to try and win races again. Events like Milan-Sanremo, which is the first big target for me next season, and the Tour de France green jersey.”
With the exception of the Olympics Cavendish will ride the season in the fabled World Championship jersey.
After giving fans on British shores the first chance to witness the famous stripes at a ride with the public on Monday, Cavendish admitted: “It’s just nice to have the jersey. The people who know the sport and are into it respect the jersey a lot. It’s nice to look down every time I train in the kit. It’s an emotional feeling.”
Motivation
Despite a career that has seen him rack up 74 professional victories in just five seasons on the road, Cavendish is determined not to rest on his laurels going forward.
A green jersey and a world title in 2011 have only made the sprinter more hungry to win at the highest level. Cavendish reasons: “It’s not like a weight has been lifted because I want to go and do it again. Obviously with the green jersey I’ve been trying to do that for years so it was nice to finally get it. It’s not often you can do what I’ve done this year and it’s one of the biggest things in cycling you can achieve.
“It’s irrelevant who I’m competing against. I want to win. It doesn’t matter which riders are there – young or experienced. It’s my job is to cross the line first against whoever I’m competing against so I can’t really think about who it is just the numbers.”
Mark Cavendish hosted a free cycling event with Holiday Inn, the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Holiday Inn’s Athlete Engagement Programme supports 50 British athletes by giving them more than 1500 free room nights.
www.holidayinn.com/london2012
