Photo by Ken Conley

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-High Road) is quite certain of his destiny…and that is to win races. “I can simply say that a win for me is a win; I’m greedy in that way,” stated Cavendish after winning a tight sprint finish against Tom Boonen (Quick Step) in Clovis. “I want to be the best and I always want to cross that finish first. I want to be the first no matter who is here or what race I’m in. I want to be first and it doesn’t matter who is there.”

Cavendish believes he was born with confidence. “Ever since I was young I knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted to achieve. It’s the same in every aspect of my life. I know I am dedicated to my sport and know what I need to put in…in both my personal life and in my professional life. When you have a strong commitment from your team, your support staff, your equipment sponsors…..and you know you put in the work….there can only be one outcome and that is success.”

Some equate the confidence to arrogance but many others see a refreshing appetite for success. Cavendish openly acknowledges the cocky attitude. “Some people think I have a reputation for being cocky or arrogant, but I think I’m just a realist. I’m the first to say when I’m bad at something, but I’m also the first to say when I think I’m good at something. My goals are my goals, not dreams; they are targets and I’ll do whatever necessary to make those targets. So when somebody asks me if I’m the fastest, I think I am. But I need to be put in a position where I can finish it. I think I’m unrivaled.”

“If Mark starts his sprint in perfect conditions, it’s almost impossible to pass him, and I think it’s the same with me,” commented Boonen. “There are only four or five sprinters in the world that you can pass, unless they make a mistake. I kept waiting for him (Cavendish) to lose speed, but his lead-out was perfect, and that’s when you get unbeatable.”

Cavendish and team mate Mark Renshaw were perfect on Wednesday. Coming into the last corner, George Hincapie led team mates Renshaw and Cavendish behind a group of four riders from Cervelo Test Team. Renshaw attacked at 600 metres from the finish with Cavendish at his wheel. Cavendish took off with 250 metres to go, outsprinting Boonen to narrowly take the victory.

Thursday’s victory was no different. Hincapie took Cavendish out to the last kilometer and then once again Renshaw took over and dropped Cavendish off at the 200 meters to go. Cavendish won easily over Boonen and Pedro Horrillo (Rabobank).

When asked if sprinters have strategic plans while sprinting, Cavendish stated, “There isn’t room for a ‘plan B’ in a sprint. There are five or six factors you need for a sprint, and if one of those goes bad, you’re in a bad way. If two go wrong, you’re not going to win. A sprint is a collection of split-second decisions, and you have no time to reflect on the decision you just made a second before. If you’re concentrating too hard on your decisions, you’re not going to win. At that point, I just look at the finish line; not the other riders. You have to do your own thing and let your team get you into the best position and finish it off.”

“There is a definite team chemistry. It’s naïve to think that I don’t have other teams interested in me, but I can honestly see myself with this team for my whole career. I am happy here and I can guarantee success here. I can guarantee a good time.”

2008 was quite successful for Cavendish and his Columbia-High Road team. Cavendish had 3 stage wins in the Giro d’Italia, 4 stage wins in the Tour de France, 3 stage wins in the Tour of Missouri, 3 stage wins in the Tour of Ireland and the World Madison Championship. “It was like a dream….it was like a snowball effect. We started off successfully…the more success I got….the more success the team got…and the more confidence we got…..the better we did.. I expected to win one stage in the Tour de France….and I planned to win two stages…but after the two (stage wins) I was winning them relatively easily. I gained more confidence. The riders were getting tired and the time gaps happened. I can sprint fast even if my legs are tired, which is a bonus.”

“I left after 14 days in 2008 (in the Tour de France.). My goal is to finish the Tour this year. I think if I finish the Tour my chances of winning green are pretty high. I am not necessarily targeting the green jersey but I am definitely targeting to finish the Tour.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 21st, 2009 at 12:30 am and is filed under Stage 5. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.