Cav shines at London Six
Manxmen put on fine display at Six Day London
The pairing of Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh could go on to contest the Madison at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after a strong ride to clinch second at Six Day London.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly after the meet’s final race, Kennaugh said that although he would focus on his road career with new team Bora-hansgrohe over the next two years he was “definitely” interested in trying to do the Madison at the 2020 Olympics.
“For Tokyo 2020 I’d be looking at team pursuit and Madison, Cav will probably want to do the omnium and Madison,” Kennaugh said. “Obviously I’ve started that partnership with Cav here — though we knew each other for years before that. It’s good to drop back in and get used to each other again.”
For his part, Cavendish said he wasn’t thinking about Tokyo during the Six Day but he was full of praise for fellow Manxman Kennaugh. “I’m really proud of him. It was a difficult first couple of nights and I can say now that he’s not just been good these last couple of nights, he’s really learned and stepped on; its been wicked to see that he has been flying,” he told CW.
Cavendish, who appeared at Six Day London alongside regular partner Bradley Wiggins in 2016, added: “Me and Brad had raced a lot together. It’s definitely easier on the arm throwing 30 kilos less.”
Kennaugh echoed his team-mate: “It was a bit rusty the first couple of days but it’s starting to feel natural now.”
While there are still three years until the 2020 Olympics, there are limited opportunities for road riders like Cavendish and Kennaugh to ride the Madison in a strong field due to their road commitments and so any potential partnership needs to be tested early.
Cavendish said he would “love to ride World Cups” but that it wasn’t practical to do so when the UCI made riders qualify by riding smaller international events which clash with his road calendar.
Cavendish added he wasn’t as physically fit last week as when he rode the event in 2016, largely because of a road season disrupted by illness and injury.
“I feel mentally fresher, you always do [after some time away], but then you worry about your form because with a lot of road racing you get a lot of endurance. I wouldn’t have been worried about a one-day but a six-day you do worry about it. But it’s been good,” said Cavendish.
The racing had been close, with Kennaugh and Cavendish leading at three separate points during the final chase, but they were eventually unable to overhaul the Australian pairing of Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson. Defending Six Day London champions Kenny De Ketele and Moreno De Pauw finished third.
In the women’s competition, the British women dominated proceedings with Katie Archibald taking a commanding victory ahead of Neah Evans and Emily Nelson.