Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) after his stage win(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mark Cavendish is an old hand at Procycling cover shoots.(Image credit: Procycling)
Mark Cavendish expects to deliver wins at the Tour de France.(Image credit: Procycling)
Need for speed. Mark Cavendish and his steed.(Image credit: Procycling)
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) has no regrets about the testing race programme he has followed in the first half of 2011 and explained that he champions quality over quantity when it comes to victories.
The Manxman has just four wins to his name ahead of the Tour de France, but numbered among them are two stage victories in a challenging Giro d’Italia where sprint opportunities were at a premium.
“I’ve made it no secret in the last couple of years, I want quality wins now instead of quantity,” Cavendish told Cyclingnews.
“I want to race, and I’m lucky I’m in an environment that gives me an opportunity to race. So I’ll go and I’ll try difficult races. And whether that means I’m last or whether that means it’s just preparation for the Tour de France then that’s what it is.”
Cavendish has not contested a bunch sprint since his second Giro stage victory at Ravenna, but he is not concerned about lacking top-end speed at the Tour. His preparation has been centred on making sure he is in contention come the finishing straight.
“I know I’m fast, I know if my team delivers me perfect I’ll always come out on top,” Cavendish said. “So it’s about getting delivered perfect, it’s about getting to the finish, it’s about being able to sprint and that’s what I’ve had to work on, and that’s all going good.”
In this exclusive video, Cavendish also clarifies the comments he made about “shit small races” as he looks forward to the biggest one of them all, the Tour de France.
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