I’m not getting bored with cycling or winning – I love it. But I need to give myself new targets all the time. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
For any young rider even competing in the San Remo is one of the biggest things – but to win it is beyond emotion. You can’t put it into words. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
I never think: ‘If I crash, I’m going to hurt myself.’ I might think: ‘If I crash, I’m not going to win.’ Everything’s about that finish line. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
It’s incredible the muscle damage you do in a sprint. You don’t see it after the line, because we’re smiling. But if you see the tent that we’re in straight afterwards, you just collapse. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
The other sprinters are big and powerful but I have different strengths. The first thing is my leg speed. Most guys sprint at 120 revolutions per minute but I sprint at 130-140: think of it like a smaller engine revving faster. My body is shorter too, so I can lean over the handlebars for a more aerodynamic profile: again, think a smaller engine but in an F1 car. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
In a sprint you make 100 decisions a second. What if X goes now and Y goes then? Should I take this gap or that one? You have to be sharp. Over time it becomes instinct. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
During the Tour you get tired, you get exhausted, you’re in pain and you can get sick for a few days but still have to ride through it. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
Crashes are the worst thing because your wounds stick to you, so you are sweating into your road rash all day and when you try to sleep your wounds are sticking to the bed sheets. It is part of the job and we know the risks. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
The descents are quite fun – everybody has a sort of competition and tries to go for it and then you compare top speeds when you get to the bottom. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
The beautiful thing about cycling is that it is so accessible and that pleased me when I was younger because you felt like you could almost touch the athletes. Mark Cavendish Read Quote
