When HTC Highroad’s Mark Cavendish last began the Giro d’Italia, the race started then – as now – with a team time trial. The American squad scorched the test and put their team leader in the maglia rosa, continuing what was a very strong season for the-then 23 year old.
By that point in time, Cavendish had taken eight victories. He started off with two stages in the Tour of Qatar, two in the Tour of California, one in Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo and two in the Driedaagse De Panne. This time, his tally is six less than that: he won stage six of the Tour of Oman, and Scheldeprijs.
Even though he's lost out on some chances due to crashes, it’s tempting to conclude that he’s simply not in the same form. Indeed, he accepted as much in the team’s press conference this week. However he believes it’s misleading to judge him against that condition.
“You have to remember that two years ago wasn’t my usual level…2009 was an exceptional year, even by my standards,” he said. “I won 25 races that year, nine or ten Grand Tour stages. 2009 was an exceptional year…it doesn’t mean that I am going bad now, I was flying then.”
Cavendish is aiming for the world championship road race this year. He said that his form now is not where it will be at the Tour de France, but explained that the worlds appointment is not an indication that he has been holding back. “I’m not delaying anything,” he said. “I started in January. If I wasn’t racing in January, nobody would have said anything about it. But because I raced in January they are saying that I did races but didn’t win them. But I don’t have to win then…I’d normally be training then.
“So do I race less or do I train? Just because I race, it doesn’t mean that I have to win. If I race more, it doesn’t mean that I win much more, if that makes sense. So I start in January racing, I finish at the worlds, and then the goal is to keep progressing my form [in the meantime]. I am still young, I am still learning what kind of works best for me, whether I train, whether I race. I am in my fifth year now and we are just seeing what works.”
Cavendish has taken five Giro stages in his career, and said that he will be satisfied if he adds to that over the next three weeks. “Like every Grand Tour, one win would constitute a success. If you go without a win, you have failed, in my opinion,” he said. “If it’s a Grand Tour, you have to be happy with one win.”
That’s not to say the team won’t aim higher than that. “We will try for every win we can…we will try to win the team time trial stage, and I am sure Marco and the other guys will try on the other days…we will try for 21 stages, but realistically you have to be happy with one stage.”
- more soon on this -