He’s crashed in both the Santos Tour Down Under and the Tour of Qatar and been required to ride for team-mates as a result of time lost, but Mark Cavendish is hoping to get his 2011 win list started this week in the Tour of Oman.
The 15-time Tour de France winner has said that he is in strong form and just needs the opportunity to show it. HTC-Highroad directeur sporitif Valerio Piva believes this to be the case, and things that he could deliver in the days ahead.
“This is a good course for Mark, he's got three or four chances in the sprints and there are some hilly stages for him to work on his climbing as well,” he explained. “We'd talked about Mark racing here ever since the start of the season, and after he'd crashed in the Tour Down Under and needed some more time recovering, it made even more sense."
"Taking part in Oman also means there's less time between one block of early season racing, and his next block, which is when he'll be building up towards his first big goal of the year, a second victory in Milan-San Remo."
The young Briton started his season earlier than usual this year for two reasons: the first is to ensure he is in the best possible shape in March, when he will aim to take his second Sanremo title in three years. The second is because he had hoped to clock up world ranking points and thus help ensure that he has more team-mates riding the world road race championships this autumn. It is taking place on a flat course in Copenhagen and Cavendish is regarded as one of the top favourites.
While the bid to land points has been complicated thus far by those crashes, Oman will offer chances to him. Piva believes that his team-mates will also be in the running for some podium time, and possibly even the general classification.
“Matt Goss is also in good shape here, and we've got a great squad for the race's hilly stages and time trial, too. guys like Michael Albasini and Marco Pinotti are both contenders for the overall,” he explained, pointing out that the team composition covers all disciplines.
The squad’s determination and spirits are also high following recent success; he believes that this too could be a factor. “After our victory in the Tour of Qatar with Mark Renshaw, we're really motivated to try to get another win in the bag here in Oman, too.
Today’s opening stage covers 158 kilometers from Al Sawadi to Al Seeb. If it comes down to a sprint, Cavendish will be backed by Pinotti, Albasini, Goss, Lars Bak, Patrick Gretsch, Alex Rasmussen and Hayden Roulston (NZ).
They know that he is someone who races on his morale, and starting off well should lead to more success. “Mark doesn't need to prove anything to anybody, but a win is a win,” said Piva.