Lining up the primary dash of a brand new season is at all times a sophisticated enterprise and doing it at 2,500 metres above sea degree solely provides a layer of problem. Even so, the frustration was palpable amongst Mark Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan squad after stage 1 of the Tour Colombia in Duitama as they filed their method by a hall of followers in direction of their group van.
One native leant throughout a barrier and made energetic makes an attempt to attract Cavendish’s consideration – “Mark! Mark! Mark!” – however for the Manxman and his lead-out practice, the defeat was nonetheless too uncooked. Solely Alexey Lutsenko managed to lift a smile when the identical fan ultimately turned his efforts to serenading him as an alternative: “Dale Alexey!”
In a frenzied finale on roads made treacherous by persistent rain – “Whole chaos,” per winner Fernando Gaviria – Astana Qazaqstan’s preliminary plan hadn’t survived contact with the opposition, and Cavendish needed to accept third place in his first outing of the 12 months.
It was additionally Michael Mørkøv‘s first race in Astana colors after he left QuickStep to re-enter Cavendish’s service over the winter. The Dane, by consensus probably the most expert lead-out man within the peloton, has been on this sport lengthy sufficient to know that the occasional false begin is an occupational hazard.
“We did not set it up like we hoped, we began a bit too early,” Mørkøv advised Cyclingnews in Paipa on Wednesday. “Possibly it was a little bit of nerves, the primary race of the season. It was additionally a brand new configuration for the group. In the long run, it was disappointing to not win the race as a result of I actually suppose we had the group and Mark had the dash to win.”
There was, in fact, mitigation for the consequence, even when Mørkøv was reluctant to quote altitude as an excuse. Within the four-year historical past of this race, nonetheless, it is telling that Colombian or Ecuadorian riders have claimed all however two of the phases. Though Mørkøv, Cavendish et al have been in Colombia since mid-January, there’s a clear home-field benefit at this race.
“In fact, there’s a number of unknowns right here,” Mørkøv conceded. “We had been at altitude however though we have been right here for 3 weeks, I nonetheless really feel that I do not get a lot oxygen, so in fact we had been conscious that we would have liked to be very cautious coming into the dash. And ultimately, we clearly received crushed by a really, very quick Colombian…”
Whereas altitude coaching has lengthy been kind of de rigueur for common classification riders, sprinters have understandably been much less inclined to go for the heights lest the repeated endurance efforts dampen their explosivity. The important thing, Mørkøv defined, is within the timing.
“It needs to be in particular doses as a result of I feel it is probably not crucial for a sprinter to be at altitude and it isn’t at all times one of the best, as a result of above all you actually need the energy and the ability,” he mentioned. “However for this time of the 12 months, it was extra endurance-based and it is a good resolution if you’re attempting to construct up a base for the season.”
With that in thoughts, it is going to hardly be classed as a disaster for Cavendish if he departs Bogotá on Sunday night with out choosing up a win on the Tour Colombia. The primary goal of the expedition was to financial institution weeks of coaching in Rionegro and Boyacá.
“We’re right here to organize for the season, to be the absolute best ready for the Tour de France in the summertime,” Mørkøv mentioned. “In fact, if you’ve been right here for 3 weeks, you need to come residence with a victory too, and that is what we hoped for yesterday. But when that does not occur, it does not imply we’re not going to win afterward within the season.”
Tour de France
Mørkøv was one of the best supporting actor on the 2021 Tour, serving to Cavendish to the haul of 4 stage wins that noticed him equal Eddy Merckx’s report of 34 victories on the race. Although the Dane was deployed primarily in Fabio Jakobsen’s service the next 12 months, he linked up with Cavendish for an additional win on the Giro d’Italia in Balatonfüred.
QuickStep’s determination to designate Jakobsen as their primary sprinter triggered Cavendish’s departure from the group on the finish of 2022 and he ultimately landed at Astana after the collapse of the B&B Lodges squad. On rejoining Cavendish’s facet a 12 months later, Mørkøv has detected a definite change in temper music. If Cavendish felt consistently compelled to struggle for house at QuickStep, he has been handed significantly extra artistic management at Astana.
“I really feel a change as a result of I really feel he is very comfy in Astana,” Mørkøv mentioned. “I feel that he feels he is actually appreciated right here. After becoming a member of Astana and linking up with him once more, I can solely say that I see him in an excellent state, each bodily and mentally. I see him in a very good place. After I see all of the assist round him, it makes me imagine we will win races.”
The race that generates all of the headlines, in fact, is that potential thirty fifth stage victory on the Tour. When Cavendish walked again his deliberate retirement after crashing out of final 12 months’s Tour, the idea was that claiming outright possession of the report was his sole motivation.
Mørkøv, nonetheless, takes a extra nuanced view of his determination to proceed racing. At almost 39 years of age, Cavendish have to be pushed to maintain doing this by one thing extra profound than a statistic. The truth is, Mørkøv, who himself turns 39 in April, is satisfied of it.
“My private opinion is that he is racing as a result of he likes to race, and chasing one other victory within the Tour de France is simply an excuse to maintain racing,” Mørkøv smiled. “That is truly what I actually admire about Mark, he is one of many guys who loves competing. He completely loves it, whether or not it is a smaller race or the Tour de France.
“In fact, the Tour de France is what everyone speaks about. However he is only a rider who likes to trip his bike and compete, like myself – and that is why we’re nonetheless right here.”
