Rolf Aldag has given Mark Cavendish a boost ahead of the World Championships road race on Sunday, telling Cyclingnews that even if not at 100 per cent he will line-up as one of the favourites for the rainbow jersey on Sunday.
Cavendish, who won the road title in 2011, has had a hugely successful season to date with four stage wins at the Tour de France, an Olympic silver medal in Rio and a Madison World title on the track. The flat course in Qatar represents his best chance of winning the road world title since Copenhagen and Great Britain have assembled a team dedicated to his cause.
In recent weeks Cavendish's preparation for the Worlds has been affected by illness and he altered his race programme in the build up. Sixth at last week's Paris-Tours showed he has not lost his form and Aldag, who directs him at Dimension Data, backed the British sprinter for Doha.
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"I have a clear view because wherever he goes, and it's a flat course, he's automatically one of the favourites," the German told Cyclingnews.
"Everyone will take him seriously for the race, so guys like Bouhanni, Kristoff, Kittel and the others will not forget him just because he didn't have a perfect preparation. That won't happen. He's done amazing things in his career."
Whether Cavendish is at 100 per cent is unclear. His sixth place at Paris-Tours suggested that he has the form and that the recent illness has not ruined his World Championship preparation. His focus on the World Championships has been clear since the start of the year too, and after the Rio Olympics he took just a handful of days off the bike before returning to training.
"If I say he can't win at 100 per cent then he'll hate me for the rest of this life but maybe it will give him added motivation and help him race better,” Aldag joked.
Germans right to have options
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