With the major stage races now behind us, many riders take a relative break in the lead up to the most prestigious race of the year, the Tour de France. Some European riders are likely to participate in their home country's National Championship to be held next weekend, but Sky Procycling today confirmed that Mark Cavendish would not be one of those.
The racing of the past few weeks racing has produced several indicators of those who are on track to deliver results in July. There's been discussion whether or not certain riders are peaking too soon. And in other cases, questions were raised on other riders whose form showed not to be at the level at which it should be at this point in the preparation.
Many have undoubtedly raised an eyebrow over Mark Cavendish' results from the last few weeks. The Team Sky rider did win three stages at the Giro d'Italia, but missed out on other days and was fairly beaten by the talented Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini) in the last sprint stage. It was a loss that also caused Cavendish to finish one frustrating point behind Joaquim Rodriguez in the points jersey competition.
As final preparation for the Tour de France and to sharpen his sprinting prowess, Cavendish lined up at the sprinter friendly Ster ZLM Toer in de Netherlands. Cavendish did win the overall classification, but not many would have expected him to be beaten on all of the four stages. Marcel Kittel (Argos Shimano) and Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) proved to be better on the first stage, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) won the second stage and Dutchman Lars Boom (Rabobank) beat Cavendish on the line in stage three. On the final day yesterday, Marcel Kittel proved to be better once again.
It begs the question, should we be worried? Has he lost the lightning fast speed that he's known for?
The answer is not simple, but Cavendish and his team know what they are doing. Even though they probably regret not winning, it's less a worry this season than it would have been in other years.
When the Olympic Games were assigned to the city of London in 2005 and the course for the road race was published in February last year, it was clear that Great Britain's best shot at Olympic gold at their home games would be Mark Cavendish. That was clear because he has been the dominating rider in large bunch sprints in the last few years. Great Britain's tactics were put to the test at last year's World Championships in Copenhagen and the result was positive: the race was controlled by Great Britain and Cavendish finished it off perfectly by crossing the finish line first.
Similar tactics could be deployed by Great Britain at the Games, but there is one major hurdle to take. In contrast to Copenhagen's course, which was relative flat, London's course has a climb that's to climbed nine times. Also, with Great Britain's team size reduced from 9 to 5 riders - thus less riders to control the race - it's vital to their tactics that Cavendish would improve his climbing skills to stay up front during the climbs, and also bolster his endurance for the 250 kilometres (156 mile) long race.
In agreement with - and strictly guided by - his coach and trainers at Team Sky, Cavendish has changed his approach in training. In the winter and during the season, a lot of emphasis was put to improve his endurance and his ability to get over short sharp climbs. He made sure he lost weight too.
Already in the month of February he had the skin fold he'd normally have in the month of May. Though his Spring campaign wasn't entirely succesful, he did show signs of improved ability in climbing at certain races, notably at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and Gent-Wevelgem, during which he passed the dreaded Kemmelberg in 25th position.
He’s continued to pare down. “I am already four kilos below my normal racing weight,” Cavendish told The Sun newspaper earlier this month. “My training and diet have become so specific, I have cut out sugar altogether. No sweets, no fizzy drinks, no processed foods.”
Last week's stage at the Ster ZLM Tour lead the peloton through the Ardennes region, partly over the same hills that are included in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Cavendish's second place behind Lars Boom at the uphill finish in La Gileppe should not be underestimated. It goes to show he's able to stay up front during multiple climbs and even fight for the stage win. If anything showed Cavendish is right on track for a good run for a golden medal in London, it's this performance.
His change in training has a down side, though. As a result of improved endurance, his end speed during the sprint has been compromised. Wins by bike lengths have been rare this season and he's been beaten more times than usual, by several riders, as became apparent during the Ster ZLM Toer.
When the Tour de France kicks off in Liege in less than a fortnight, many expect Cavendish to rack up one stage after another again, like in other years, but it surely will be a tougher task than before, keeping in mind
he's been riding and training differently. Add to that the fact that Cavendish won't have eight riders in his team to guide him to the line, as Team Sky also aims to score with Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome in the general classification.
However even if he score less outstanding results than in other years at the Tour de France, Team Sky won't be too hard on their ace sprinter. It's London's Olympic Road Race on July 29th which really counts this season, and everything is focussed on that.