Mark Cavendish confirms spring racing schedule, including Milan-San Remo
The British sprint star is hoping to put past struggles behind him with his Bahrain-McLaren team
Mark Cavendish has confirmed his early season racing schedule, including a return to Milan-San Remo.
The Brit has partnered up with his old mentor Rod Ellingworth at Bahrain-McLaren for 2020 as he strives to put the struggles of recent seasons behind him.
Cavendish, 34, will open his season at the new Tour of Saudi Arabia in early February to kick off a three-week racing block in the Middle East.
He will also ride Milan-San Remo this year, before heading on to the cobbled Classics.
Cavendish will be looking to return to the Tour de France this season, after he was dropped from the Tour squad by Dimension Data last year.
A spokesperson for Bahrain-McLaren said: “Our performance staff will decide about his next part of the season (also about the Tour de France) upon his performance and condition. The goal is to win some stages.”
“Mark is in this moment at the training camp in Altea in Spain. He is training hard and he is very much motivated to perform well in the coming season.”
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After the Tour of Saudi Arabia, Cavendish will race in the Tour of Oman and the UAE Tour – all strong proving grounds for the sprinters – before heading back to Europe for Tirreno-Adriatico in March.
Milan-San Remo will be the biggest race of Cavendish’s early season schedule, as a Monument designed for the sprinters and a race Cavendish won back in 2009.
According to Bahrain-McLaren he will then go on to the cobbled Classics.
In recent seasons, Cavendish has struggled to reach his best after struggling through illness and crashes, but he hopes to be reinvigorated by the move to Bahrain.
>>> Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz will open their seasons next month
Former Team Sky and British Cycling coach Rod Ellingworth has taken over as team principal at Bahrain-McLaren, which prompted Cavendish’s transfer from Dimension Data.
Ellingworth and Cavendish have a long history of success, starting at the British Cycling Academy and on to their World Championship victory in 2011.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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