The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Cavendish not feeling the weight of expectation
Mark Cavendish insists he is under no pressure to deliver in this year’s Tour de France, having only just made the cut after a long battle against illness.
The 30-time Tour stage winner was confirmed in Team Dimension Data’s squad on Monday, having lost three months of the season to the EpsteinBarr virus.
Cavendish won four stages of the Tour last year, but this summer one would be massive for a rider whose participation had been in doubt for several weeks.
“I don’t think it will be a failure if I don’t win a stage,” he said on the eve of today’s opening stage in Dusseldorf.
“Apparently it signals the end of my career if I only win three (in a single Tour). But I’m realistic. I’ll be happy if I win a stage, we can race as a team and get good results.”
This year’s Tour route features nine stages which look ripe for a sprint finish, an unusually large number and one that Cavendish could not resist.
“I’m not in ideal condition, but the good thing about being a sprinter is sometimes you can win on luck,” he said. “If you pick the right wheels and get the right run there’s a chance you can win. It’s worth coming here with that chance for the sprint days because there are a lot of sprint days.”
The 32-year-old only returned to racing in the Tour of Slovenia in midJune, having been out since March.
Cavendish said all signs of the virus – which can cause glandular fever – are gone, although he admitted he could not be sure he was over it.
“The thing about this illness is you can’t predict it. If I was on the limit then I wouldn’t be here, but I seem to have a good feeling and ultimately it’s the Tour de France,” he said.
“We’ll just see what happens. I’m the most relaxed I’ve ever been coming into a Tour de France, because, though there’s always going to be external pressure on me for results, I know exactly where I’m at, I know exactly what I’ve done and every year I know exactly where I’m at condition-wise to be able to come and say I’m going to win stages.
“This year I know I haven’t done what I need to go out and be bullish that I’m going to win multiple stages. I’m quite realistic, but there is an opportunity I can win a stage at least.”
Dimension Data were not only sweating on Cavendish in the build-up to the Tour as Steve Cummings, winner of stages in each of the past two Tours, fought his way back from a crash in April in which he fractured his collarbone, sternum and scapula.
The 36-year-old returned to racing in some style at last weekend’s British national championships, where he won both the road race and time trial to confirm he was in good enough shape.
Meanwhile, Chris Froome has reaffirmed his commitment to Team Sky by signing a new three-year contract until the end of 2020. His deal was due to expire at the end of next season.