SPRINT LIKE MARK CAVENDISH
No one gets lower than the Manxman in a sprint, and it gives him a crucial edge...
Mark Cavendish is an absolute master of his craft. He’s worked tirelessly with so much passion to be the best at what he does. He’s studied cycling and sprinting so much, and taken the best of everyone to bring it together to make the best of himself. He’s an example to us all that instead of just accepting that someone else is better than us, we can work on the details of our own riding to bridge those gaps and make the most of ourselves. Especially in his heyday, one area Cav had the edge over his rivals was his ability to deliver power while keeping his front end very low.
GO LOW 1
If you’ve got a lower frontal area, and therefore less aerodynamic drag, you’re going to ride faster. But that’s hard to achieve while still putting out full power, and very few other sprinters are able to match Cavendish in that regard so he enjoys an advantage.
FAST DRIVER 2
We often come back to this in
CyclingPlus but, once again, it’s clear that Cavendish has a very strong core. He’s able to hold his head really low and drive through his body to generate the same power as he would in any other position, and that requires a strong core.
FULLY ARMED 3
In a sprint effort you want to be using your arms as levers to help you produce even more power, and a lot of riders have to be higher over the bars to achieve that and pull on them. Work on pulling the bar while staying low and you will get more for the power you produce.
SO SOLID 4
Another key to Cavendish’s success is the fact he keeps his centreline on the bike so solid, so power generated by his arms is transferred to his leg drive and not away. If his core wasn’t solid then pulling with the arms and driving with the legs would cause his torso to twist like a snake.
PRECISE TIMING 5
Not many outside of his team will know the exact figures, but it’s well documented that Cav’s peak power numbers aren’t up there with the best, but he uses what he has to the max. No matter how low you stay, try to keep out of the wind altogether for as long as possible before the big effort.
FORWARD THINKING 6
One key but rarely actioned skill is getting ahead of the bottom bracket to deliver more power. As you move forward out of the saddle, your head is likely to rise – as on a climb – so work hard on shifting your weight forward while keeping your head low.