Omega Pharma-Quick Step Sports Director Brian Holm says he is happy to be reunited with Mark Cavendish, who has signed a three-year deal with the Belgian team. Cavendish, who has only seen out one season of his three-year contract at Team Sky, is switching teams because of a lack of support in the sprints at the British squad, and will now join up with former HTC Highroad directeur sportif Holm.
“I am both happy and proud to work with Cav again,” Holm told VeloNation. “I believe Cav is one of the few true champions of cycling. He rides clean, has a big mouth, wins and he dresses well,” said the Dane who shares a sense of fashion with the former world champion.
Cavendish will be reunited with several former teammates and staff who joined Omega Pharma-Quick Step after the demise of HTC-Highroad. It is well known that Cavendish and Holm had a great working relationship in the past but Holm says he is not the only reason Cavendish chose the team.
“The main reason Cav came ‘back’ was that we have a strong team who can support him and Tom Boonen. For sure I was not the main factor, but on the other hand I don’t believe it was a disadvantage that I was around.”
Even though Boonen does not consider himself a pure sprinter anymore, the two men will have to find a way to be together on the same team without cramping each other’s style. Holm says the team doesn’t see any problem with this.
“They won’t really go for the same races,” commented Holm. “Only Gent-Wevelgem and Milan-San Remo but we have to talk about it still. Tom made everything look so easy this year and of course it will be more difficult next year. Another thing to consider is that we have many key riders who should make it more easy for us to plan tactics because we have more cards to play.”
Boonen had an exceptional season this year winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix on the way to a total of thirteen individual victories. Cavendish also clocked up many wins, including three stages in the Tour de France, and will be hoping for a strong level of success with riders such as Tony Martin, Sylvain Chavanel and Bert Grabsch in his sprint train.