Cavendish has not raced the Giro since 2013 when he won the points jersey, and the sprinter has amassed an impressive 15 individual stage wins in the race since his career started. However, in the last two years he has raced successfully at the Tour of Turkey and the Tour of California, both of which overlap with the Giro.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. “I’d like to, I’d really like to.” Cavendish recently told Cyclingnews when asked if he would ride the Giro this year.
One factor in Cavendish’s decision on whether to race the Giro could be down to the number of pure sprint stages available for him. With the Tour, Olympics and Worlds already earmarked as major objectives this season, the rest of the Cavendish’s campaign must be planned meticulously. His track ambitions will take him away from the road in the first phase of the year with the Hong Kong round of the World Cup just around the corner.
“I went one year when there was three stages for sprinters and I think I won one,” he added.
Sponsor commitments could also play a part in any Giro decision. Cavendish has a strong relationship with the race organisers, RCS Sport, but he admits that the decision isn’t just about picking his favourite races.
“I’m paid to win races and to be fair, to hard core cycling fans the Giro is the Giro and I love the Giro. I mean I really love the Giro and I have a great relationship with RCS, I love Italy and I have place there but commercially the Tour of California is good for sponsors.”
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
