Cavendish gears up for international track return

Despite representing Team GB at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012, the Manx Missile has yet to climb the podium at an Olympic Games.

He finished ninth in the Madison alongside Sir Bradley Wiggins in Beijing while four years later he was unable to clinch success in the road race at his home Games.

Cavendish has already established himself on the road racing scene, winning the World title in 2011 and becoming the most successful sprinter in Tour de France history.

But he is to return to the international boards in order to chase a place on the track team at Rio 2016 later this year.

It is almost seven years since he last pulled on the Great Britain Cycling Team kit on the world stage but that is set to change this weekend when he tackles the omnium at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong, with qualification points on offer.

“I’d like an Olympic medal. I’ve only got a couple of Olympics left,” Cavendish told British Cycling.

“I haven’t qualified for the Olympics yet, so I need to get points to qualify.

“As an endurance rider, I like the new format of the omnium, with the points race at the end. It plays into my strengths as a rider.

“I’ve been doing a lot of track training, a lot of specific stuff for the 250 and the timed events that can detriment that final points race, but hopefully I can get Olympic qualifying points and I’ll be in contention for the Olympic Games and then we’ll see what we do from there.”

Cavendish has already spoken of his aim to enjoy a successful 2016 with track and road world titles on his radar, alongside Olympic success, and trying to hold the Tour de France yellow jersey for the first time.

However he is confident he can rise to the challenge.

“First and foremost, I’m a professional road rider. That’s how it is. My job is on the road, but I’d like an Olympic medal,” he added.

“I think we’ve got a great structure (in the Great Britain Cycling Team). Shane Sutton and Heiko Salzwedel have known me since I was pretty much a kid and they’ve both had massive influences on my career, so to be able to work with them and the guys around is pretty nice.

“I know that Dimension Data (Cavendish’s new road team) and the guys there have got trust in me that I can work the two and I’m incredibly fortunate that they’ve given me the leniency to work for them both.”

© Sportsbeat 2016