HTC-Highroad Sports Director Brian Holm this week told VeloNation that he would miss Mark Cavendish if he were to switch teams at the end of the season, but believes the team would continue to be successful without the star sprinter. Cavendish, whose contract ends at the end of the year, is in demand. The forerunner for the Manxman’s services is said to be British team Sky Procycling.
“Cav ends his contract at the end of this year. Let’s see what happens then,” Holm told VeloNation. “If he should leave, we would miss him like hell.”
The American team has been the most successful outfit the past two years in terms of the number of races won, and is known for their ingenuity when it comes to finding new talent. They signed Cavendish from Continental team Sparkasse in 2006 and he immediately went on to take 12 victories in his debut season.
However Holm (pictured with team owner Bob Stapleton) said if Cavendish had to leave, the winning mentality would not disappear and the team would just have to look elsewhere for race wins.
“We won 29 races this year…without [Cavendish], we would have won 25. He`s always a safe ticket for success in the Tour...but well, the new white rabbit out of the hat could be John Degenkolb.”
22 year old Degenkolb is in his first year with the team and already has six victories to his name. The biggest of which came last week in the Critérium du Dauphiné, with two impressive stage wins.
“Jan Schaffrath, [Rolf] Aldag and Allan Peiper are doing a fantastic job at spotting talent. Let’s just say the trio has a good nose. Next to that, I believe we have a good relationship with most federations. If they see talent, they send them to us first because they believe in our structure, coaching and philosophies about young riders. We never squeeze young kids and always give them races where they have a chance of success. Aldag and Schaffrath talked about John three years ago…Schaffy is an old East German. John is from Germany’s cycling capital Erfurt. He was easy to pick out.”
Holm also attributed their success to being pedantic about equipment, which he says is a nightmare for mechanics. Motivating riders and racing every race to win ranks high on their list of priorities. Many pro cyclists have come through the ranks at HTC-Highroad, been successful and then moved on. They include: Edvald Boasson Hagen, Andre Greipel, Thomas Löfkvist and Gerald Ciolek.
“Most riders win and develop at Highroad. Then they get bigger offers we can’t match from other teams - and they leave. No reason to be sentimental about it. They leave for better money and often they stop winning,” commented Holm.