Foldable Bikes Party: Cavendish starts 2018 with Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi racing block

Monday, 5 February 2018

Cavendish starts 2018 with Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi racing block

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Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) took his place amongst the big-name sprinters at the Dubai Tour presentation, unsure about his form for his 2018 season debut but still hungry to race and win.

He recently joked he may switch his lycra for leathers and try his hand at motorbike racing after his professional cycling career but, for now, he is focused on returning to the level of success that has given him 145 career wins, 30 Tour de France stage victories, the 2009 Milan-San Remo and a world title in 2011.

Cavendish fought back from illness and injury in the final months of the 2017 season and continued to race on the road and track until late October. He enjoyed a short winter break but was soon back training for 2018. He has kept a low profile in recent weeks but is confident of soon being back to his best.

"I didn't have so much time off this winter because I had so much off last year due to injury and illness. I've been working hard to get back to racing. I'm not in any condition that I'll be in July, but I'm happy where I am for February," he said after attending the pre-race press conference and photo opportunity with his sprint rivals.

"The first race of the season is always an unknown. It doesn't matter how hard you've trained, it's always an unknown until you race. There's no expectation from myself or from the team. I've got about a month here in the Middle East: I've got Dubai, Oman and then the Abu Dhabi Tour. It's going to be a nice month. Hopefully, that will build my form. By the end of the month in Abu Dhabi, I'd like to be confident that I'm going to be winning stuff."

Cavendish opted to ride the Tour of Oman rather than risk a spell at home in the European winter as he builds toward his goals for the 2018 season. He will again ride Milan-San Remo in March, perhaps Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix in the spring. However, the Tour de France remains the big objective for him and Dimension Data, with only a very slight chance he will ride the Giro d'Italia.