EXCLUSIVE: Mark Cavendish: 'I'm as comfortable on track as Andy Murray playing squash'
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Updated 20/11/2017 at 08:33 GMT
Mark Cavendish thoroughly enjoyed his experience of being back on the track at Six Day London last week. But the Olympic medallist and 30-time Tour de France stage winner is keen to point out that he’s not at home on the boards.
Mark Cavendish
Image credit: Getty Images
Cavendish and his Six Day partner Peter Kennaugh – making his professional debut in the format – performed admirably in a strong field in London, finishing second to the Australian pair of Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson.
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'Brilliant stuff!' Cavendish and Kennaugh take Madison in style
The Manx pair’s participation in the event hinted that Cavendish may be targeting future titles on the track – maybe even another Olympic medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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Cav back to his brilliant best in Japan
Yet while the 32-year-old’s performances suggested that he’s definitely got the quality to be a threat at the top level, he told Eurosport’s Tom Bennett that track cycling is very much a departure from his true talents:
London was hard work. People forget I’m a road bike rider. Although we’re all bike riders, this is not what I do. It’s like Andy Murray playing squash or Kevin Pietersen playing baseball, it’s a similar principle. It’s just not the same sport.
For a rider out of his comfort zone, Cavendish looked remarkably at home at the Lee Valley VeloPark, producing arguably the performance of the week when he won a dramatic scratch race on Friday evening.
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Cavendish wins Scratch Race after incredible photo finish
The evolution of the scratch race over recent years made the win a particularly proud moment for Cavendish – as he explained:
"Honestly, scratch racing is nuts. When I first started riding the track – over ten, 15 years ago now at world level – scratch racing was always just go round and then a big sprint at the end, so it was kind of the same whether it was over ten laps or 80 laps, that’s just what happened.
“But then actually sprinters, track sprinters, cottoned on to this, so you’d get riders like sprinters slowing it down because they knew they’d win the sprint.
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Cavendish thrilled with win in Japan
“So the endurance riders started to attack to drop the sprinters and it became probably a harder race than the points race. It got so unpredictable that you’d get yourself caught out at one point and there’d be no recovering from it.
“Now it’s all about collaboration, but it’s hard work man. At least with points races you know when the riders are going to speed up and slow down.”
But if Cavendish is to make it all the way to Tokyo 2020 then the Madison would be his likeliest option. And the Manx Missile acknowledged that the Six Day staple is also his strongest event on the track:
I just really know how to ride the Madison. It’s the closest thing there is on the track to what I do.
It’s unlikely that Cavendish will feature again in the Six Day Series this winter, with preparation for next year’s road-cycling calendar the priority after a disappointing and injury hit 2017.
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