Mark Cavendish is fired up by his status as world road race champion and has made clear that he is targeting more than the Tour de France and Olympic Games in 2012.
The Sky Procycling rider has worked hard over the winter and in addition to being in good shape, it is believed that he is more lean than before at this time of year.
He clearly wants to honour the rainbow jersey and has also said that the fact that he will become a father this spring has given him an additional incentive to have a very strong year. As a result, he wants to win wherever possible.
“The last couple of seasons it’s always just been about the Tour de France,” he said on the team website. “But now I want to repeat 2009, where I was successful throughout the whole season and I don’t want to be chasing July. I want to know exactly where I am in May and June so I can perform my best at the Tour de France and the Olympics.”
Speaking to the media prior to last year’s Giro d’Italia, Cavendish suggested then that it would be very difficult for him to have the kind of season-long consistency he showed in 2009. He said that he wasn’t able to keep that intensity up and even if he was in the same shape, it didn’t mean that he could succeed over such a long period of time as he did then.
However, given the fact that he was older and closer to his physiological peak, the statement didn’t quite ring true. He’s now realised that it is viable to be more ambitious, providing he can get into strong shape early on, and believes that he can realistically target a repeat win in Italy’s early season Classic.
“I’d like to win Milan-San Remo again. I said when I won it last time in 2009 that I wanted to win it again in the world champion’s jersey - when I’ve got those rainbow bands,” he said.
Few riders have done so and so he knows that he would be joining a very select group if he can hit the line first in the Italian coastal town.
Cavendish will get his season underway this weekend when he lines out in the Tour of Qatar. He’ll continue to build his form in the Tour of Oman, then return to Europe and begin racing there.
All going to plan, he’ll ensure that the rainbow jersey is seen at the finish line – and on the podiums – of quite a few races in 2012.