It’s early January and a trim-looking Mark Cavendish has meandered onto the Manchester velodrome with a Great Britain teammate in tow. After a lap or two of tranquil pace-setting they file behind the Derny and begin surfing the slipstream as the pace is relentlessly increased.
It’s a far cry from the clamour of the Tour de France; the only spectators in the fluorescent-lit arena are a gaggle of journalists who have overdone it on the Christmas turkey, and a clutch of dedicated coaching staff carefully analysing the Dimension Data rider’s every pedal stroke.
Lap after lap, this is the gruel to the glamour of pro cycling but for Cavendish this is all part of the process, a path on a journey that started on the Isle of Man but will hopefully end in Olympic Gold in Rio later this year.
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An hour later and Cavendish is showered, changed and in a relaxed mood when Cyclingnews meets him in one of the small offices overlooking the velodrome.
It seems odd talking about risks with a man who puts his life and limbs on the line every time he opens a sprint but 2016 is almost certainly set to be a defining season for the Manxman. Every year is important when you are an elite athlete, of course, but there is more to Cavendish’s usual cluster of ambitions than in previous years. This season he wants to wear the maillot jaune at the Tour, win stages, seal glory at the Olympics, and then rally for another shot at the Worlds in Qatar.
It is the Olympics that provide the most intrigue given the unfinished business the 30-year-old has with the Games. Rio offers the chance not just to exorcise the demons of 2008 – when he was the only member of the Great Britain track team not to win a medal – or those of 2012 – when Great Britain were soundly dispatched with in the road race – but also to help achieve what has so far remained tantalisingly out of reach.
- Cavendish targets Tour de France, Olympics and Worlds in 'full-on' season
- Cavendish ready to switch between road and track racing in 2016
- Cavendish: Olympic medal is the only thing missing
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