Mark Cavendish reveals to Cycling Weekly magazine this week that he crashed heavily on a training ride the day before Milan-San Remo, nearly ending his chances in the race.

In an exclusive interview with the magazine, Cavendish says that he took a tumble and injured his knee just 24 hours before his sensational Milan-San Remo victory.

“We were out doing a couple of hours and Edvald [Boasson Hagen] took a drink and hit one of those bumps in the road you don’t see,” explained Cavendish.

“He went down and I went into him. When I was in the air I thought I was going to break a collarbone, it was one of those kind of crashes.

“Whether it made any difference or not, I tried to do a bit of a roll to protect my collarbone. I ended up banging my knee. I put ice on it in the afternoon, and it was okay the following morning.

“Maybe it was a good thing because the day before I was worrying about my knee, not the race, and on the morning I was thinking about the race not my knee.”

During the interview, Cavendish also talks more about his Milan-San Remo win, about his aims at the Tour de France, people’s claims that he is ‘cocky and arrogant’, his return to the track, Ghent-Wevelgem and much more.

Cycling Weekly April 2 issue is out today at WHSmith, major supermarkets and all good newsagents priced £2.60.

RELATED LINKS
Cavendish wins in De Panne
What’s in the April 2 issue of Cycling Weekly
Mark Cavendish: Rider Profile