‘I’m a realist’: Mark Cavendish under no illusion about his future in cycling
A downbeat Mark Cavendish has acknowledged he is not going to return to his earlier stage as a sprinter and even conceded his winter switch to the Deceuninck-Quickstep group makes that much less doubtless as a result of stage of competitors throughout the squad. Speaking for the primary time since his return to the Belgian group, Cavendish stated that 2021 is not going to be “about trying to win what I won previously. I’m a realist.”
“If I thought I wanted to go and race and win six stages of the Tour de France again I’m in fairytale land, and it makes it even less likely when you come to the strongest team in the world, the way they dominate,” stated Cavendish, who has gained 30 Tour de France phases in his profession, the last in 2016. “I’m not looking to hang on to something or try to finish my career in any fairytale way. I just know that I’m still good. Even if I’m not winning, I can still add something to this team.”
In 2020, using for Bahrain-Maclaren, Cavendish didn’t come near a win, which prompted him to joke, when requested on Wednesday about the present technology of sprinters led by his new teammate Sam Bennett, that he did “not have a clue because in the last year I haven’t been near them”.
Cavendish might be 36 this 12 months, and has struggled to return to his greatest kind since being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus in 2018, however he wouldn’t be drawn on when his profession may finish, though after ending the Ghent-Wevelgem traditional final 12 months he speculated that retirement may solely be weeks away.
“Look how many comebacks I’ve done in my career. Why not join [the team] regardless of whether I think it’s my last year or 10 years? I was at my happiest here [at Deceuninck-Quickstep] so the opportunity is a dream whether I do one month more or 10 years.”
With his standing at Deceuninck unsure partly resulting from his kind and likewise as a result of energy of the squad, Cavendish could be uncertain about his objectives in any season, however with early races being cancelled already, his race programme has but to take form.
“Like many riders, I just hope the world gets back to normality. I don’t know my programme yet, I haven’t thought about it. I’m just glad to be back here. The Belgians have cycling in their blood and I can relate to that.”
