By Friday of this week MTN – Qhubeka will know if they have been selected for the UCI WorldTour but that hasn’t stopped the team from deciding to fully back Mark Cavendish’s dreams of Olympic glory in 2016.
Cavendish will ride for the team – known as Dimension Data next season - after moving from Etixx-QuickStep this autumn. The Olympic Games are a significant aim for the sprinter who is looking to win his first medal of any kind at Olympic level. His most likely path to Olympic selection is through the Great Britain endurance track squad, with Cyclingnews learning Saturday that Cavendish will ride the Omnium in January’s World Cup event in Hong Kong.
Any desires to race at the Games would ideally need the backing and support of a rider’s trade team and Doug Ryder of MTN – Qhubeka is fully behind his new signing.
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“We are supportive of any rider’s ambitions to do significant things. The Olympic Games is a priority, it’s the greatest event and it only takes place every four years. Mark has really strong ambitions for that. We’ll have more discussions about it at our training camp next week but Mark seems really focused on it and he’s always said that the team’s road ambitions comes first but I’ve been to the Games and it’s such a special event and one that you never want to hold a rider back from,” Ryder told Cyclingnews from his home in South Africa.
“I think some pros today don’t value those iconic events,” he added.
“If you look at the medals that someone like Bradley Wiggins has won, those are incredible achievements and shouldn’t be underrated. It’s one per cent of one per cent who go to the Games and it’s the best against the best.”
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