Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) has told Cyclingnews that his preferred partner for the Madison at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games would be Geraint Thomas.
Cavendish, who is a three-time Madison world champion, is currently recovering from a shoulder injury after crashing out of the Tour de France earlier this month. He is expected to be back on the road and training in the coming weeks, with the Tour of Britain and the UCI Road World Championships in Norway on his agenda.
With the Madison back in the Olympic programme after its omission from London and Rio, Cavendish has been provided with a huge incentive to prolong his racing career. In an exclusive interview with Cyclingnews – due to be released as a podcast on Monday – Cavendish admitted that he briefly considered hanging up his wheels upon completing his current contract at Dimension Data – which expires at the end of 2018 – until deciding to aim for the Madison in Tokyo.
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“Before the announcement of the Madison in Tokyo I didn’t think that I’d be doing more than two or three more years,” he told Cyclingnews.
“I even thought about maybe stopping at the end of this contract, maybe. When the Madison was announced in Tokyo… I’m three times World Champion. I have to go. I’d be stupid not to. That’s in 2020. Then when I look at where I was at the Tour de France with just six weeks training, I realised that I’ve still got an ability. I don’t think that I’m slowing down anytime soon.”
Cavendish, who won a silver medal in the Omnium at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, has already been contacted by riders wishing to ride the Madison with him in 2020. However, when asked by Cyclingnews who his preferred partner would be, the former road world champion paused before naming Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas. The pair came through the ranks at the same time and rode their first Tour de France together in 2007 – albeit on different teams. Although their careers have gone in different paths – Cavendish has become the sprinter of his generation and Thomas has been succesful on the track and in stage races – the Dimension Data rider believes that they would make the ideal team.
Regaining full fitness
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