Tag: Mark Cavendish

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Young SPOTY

Lucy Garner, the Junior Road Race World Champion, has been announced as one of the ten short-list candidates for the much coveted BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year – amongst others she is up against last year’s winner; diving’s Tom Daley. The 17 year-old  Leicestershire cyclist became Britain’s first women’s Junior Road Race World Champion since Nicole Cooke in 2001 when she took the title in September in competition in Copenhagen, the win was made all the more spectacular by her recovery from a heavy crash in the opening lap in which she suffered a badly cut knee.

 

The winner of the Young SPOTY will be announced on December 22 as part of the annual BBC awards. Although the nominees for the main (non-youth) awards will not be made public until Monday (November 28) it is widely thought that Mark Cavendish will be amongst the elite.

 

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Children of the Revolution

With a stellar line up of cycling’s cream Saturday’s Revolution Series at the Manchester velodrome was being hailed as the greatest ever well in advance of a single saddle being taken to. And it certainly lived up to the hype with the likes of Mark Cavendish, Franco Marvulli, Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy lining up for the off. Despite Ed Clancy and Andrew Tennant winning the 1km Madison time trial it was World road race champion Mark Cavendish, making his first track appearance since the 2009 World Championships, that stole the lion’s share of the limelight winning the scratch race ahead of Steven Burke and in front of a capacity crowd. Cav took the 15km event in 17minutes flat with Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett and Geraint Thomas only making 15th and 18th place respectively.

 

Recently-retired pro, and long-time Revolution Series favourite, Rob Hayles was welcomed with a standing ovation from the 4000-strong audience and fellow riders alike. Highlights of the event will be televised today (Monday, November 21) at 7pm on ITV4.

 

For full details of the Revolution Series see: www.cyclingrevolution.com

 

 

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Sky: Greatest Brit Squad Ever?

Mark CavendishAfter months of speculation (and a Cyclo drum-roll, please) Mark Cavendish has finally announced that he has signed with Team Sky. The decision of his current team, HTC Highroad, to fold at the end of the 2011 season after losing their headline sponsor sparked protracted debate about just where the 26-year-old ‘Manx Missile’ might set his future sights and with such a spectacular year of racing under his wheels – culminating in September with him becoming the first male world road race champion for 46 years – his stock had certainly skyrocketed. Cav’s signing will see him riding alongside fellow Brits Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift, Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins in what could prove to be a pivotal year for British cycling.

 

Commenting on the signing Dave Brailsford, Team Sky Principal, said: “Mark is the greatest sprinter of his generation and is well on his way to becoming the greatest of all time. He is a rider of exceptional talent who has proved his pedigree at the very highest level of our sport…Mark is a born winner and what excites me most is the attitude he brings to all the teams he rides for. We want to inspire more fans to get into cycling and I can think of no one better to help us do that.” Bradley Wiggins added: “I think I speak for everyone in the squad when I say that we’re all delighted to have Cav joining us at Team Sky. He is the best sprinter in the world and has an energy and passion for cycling that is infectious.”

 

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Cavendish Struggles on Paris-Tours

Greg van AvermaetBelgian rider Greg van Avermaet (BMC) has won the Paris-Tours single-day classic in a time of 5:21:43, powering ahead of the breakaway with 20km left to go and ultimately beating Italian Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling) in a sprint finish for what was arguably the win of his career. Saxo Bank-SunGard’s Kasper Klostergaard placed third with +15.

 

Mark Cavendish’s world champion’s rainbow jersey was not enough to brighten the showery and wind-swept day, which saw him finish in a disappointing 42nd place. The HTC rider subsequently tweeted: Phew, that was a stressful day. A strong wind from the start with small roads. It was a hard race with a worthy winner. Congratulations to Greg Van Avermaet.” The highest placed Brit was Team Sky’s Ian Stannard in fourth.

 

Image: ©BMC/Tim de Waele

 

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Cavendish Crowned

UCI Road World ChampionshipsIn a near perfect show of team work, HTC-Highroad yesterday (Sunday, September 26) delivered Mark Cavendish to the finish line in Denmark that would make him World Road Race Champion. In a spectacular demonstration that took no prisoners and looked to have a single purpose – to speed Cav to that line – from the outset, HTC dominated across a largely flat 266km course that perfectly suited the Manx rider. Taking the Gold Medal and World Champion title – the first Brit to do so since Tom Simpson in 1965 – topped out an incredible year for Cavendish who, despite a small number of set backs, managed 20 Tour de France stage wins and the coveted green jersey.

 

Given not only this success but the all-round performance this season of HTC-Highroad their imminent demise, due nominally to lack of headline sponsor, seems all the more mysterious. The next few weeks is likely to finally put to rest the rumours as to where Cavendish will spend his next season – a season in which he will not only be defending a Tour green jersey and World Championship, but also chasing Olympic Gold.

 

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Boom Time

Tour of BritainYesterday (Sunday, September 18) saw a thrilling, if rain-soaked, conclusion to the Tour of Britain, which had begun on the Scottish Borders the previous Sunday. As rain lashed the capital, HTC’s Mark Cavendish  sprinted to victory in 1:59:13 with his team-mate Mark Renshaw in second to mark their third 1-2 result of the week; with Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift, both Team Sky, in forth and fifth it was a patriotic day for British cycling.

 

Despite the final day’s victories it was Dutchman Lars Boom of Rabobank who finished the week crowned king of the ToB with an overall time of 26:57:35, with Team Sky’s Steven Cummings second on +36 and of NetApp Jan Bárta with +55 in third. Earlier yesterday Boom had  scored a second place finish in the Time Trial Stage, 5 seconds behind stage 8A winner Alex Dowsett, to consolidate his week’s points and all but guarantee overall success.

 

Full ToB results available at: www.tourofbritain.com 

 

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Cavendish Takes ToB Stage 1

Tour of BritainThe Tour of Britain got off to a blistering start yesterday (Sunday, September 11) for Mark Cavendish who sprinted to Stage 1 victory in Whitesands, Dumfries in a time of 4:41:06. Cav’s participation had been in doubt until early last week as he had quit the Vuelta a Espańa on Stage 4 and UCI rules normally dictate that riders who withdraw from a race are ineligible to compete in another whilst the first is still running. However, having been granted special dispensation by the governing nosy to compete in the ToB, Cavendish grabbed the bulls by the horn and stormed his way to success with an early four second lead on overall classification thanks to both the win and the stage’s time bonus. His HTC Highroad team mate Mark Renshaw took second place on the 170km stage with Theo Bos of Rabobank in third.

 

Quoted on the ToB’s official website (www.tourofbritain.com), Cavendish said, “It’s incredible to win the first stage and get the leaders jersey…We had wicked support today. The amount of cheers and banners along the stage was brilliant. Super encouraging. You wouldn’t expect this is Britain and it’s very different to when I last raced here in 2007. It’s very nice. This event is certainly growing.”

 

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Cav to Race ToB

It has been announced that Mark Cavendish will, after all, be taking part in the Tour of Britain. His involvement was in doubt after his withdrawal from the Vuelta a Espana on Stage 4, the 170.2km route from Baza to the Sierra Nevada (the Vuelta continues until Sunday September 11, the date that the ToB starts). Citing exhaustion after the Tour de France – at which he took the prestigious green jersey – Cavendish’s inclusion in the team for the Tour of Britain looked unlikely as UCI rules usually state that riders who withdraw from one race may not enter another whilst the first is still running – however the Manx rider has been granted special dispensation to take to the saddle when things get underway in Peebles, Scotland.

 

Tweeting yesterday, Cavendish said: “So happy to announce on this lovely Monday morning that I will be racing in this year’s #TourOfBritain with my @HTCHighroad team.” Race Director Mick Bennett commented: Mark’s addition will ensure that the sprints are hotly contested… As a team we have worked hard over the past fortnight to ensure that Mark rides the Tour of Britain.”

 

Cavendish hasn’t participated in the ToB since 2007, when he won the two opening stages.