Mark Cavendish rejects Britain's Olympic fixation
Mark Cavendish reckons Britons should look further than the Olympics in judging the success of their athletes (AFP/Getty Images)
Mark Cavendish, the only member of Britain's successful track cycling team to fail to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics, has hit out at the nation's obsession with the Games.
Cavendish went to Beijing as the Madison world champion alongside Bradley Wiggins, but the duo's competitions earlier in the year left their energy levels depleted and they finished ninth.
The 23-year-old from the Isle of Man had won four Tour de France stages in July, while Wiggins had already won golds in the individual pursuit and team pursuit by the time he competed in the Madison.
Cavendish, who will start the Giro d'Italia on Saturday, complained that he failed to receive the backing he deserved from the British team.
"There's a lot of people that didn't win a medal, it's what I sacrificed to go there that hurt the most," he told BBC television.
"For me, the Olympics is not even in the top 10 of what you can achieve. It is quite important as a British person, not necessarily as a cyclist."
Cavendish cemented his reputation as the quickest sprinter in road racing with victory in the 100th edition of the Milan-San Remo race in March, putting him among the favourites for this year's green jersey for the sprints or points champion in the Tour de France.
"This year already I've won six or seven races. If you asked a cycling enthusiast, they would say it overshadows what the Olympics is for an endurance rider," he said. "But you ask the average member of the public in Britain and they'll look at you like you're mad."
Cavendish had vowed he was "finished" with track cycling after Beijing, but he returned to the velodrome at the Track World Championships in Poland in March and is set to seek Madison gold in London 2012 alongside fellow Isle of Man native Peter Kennaugh.
© AFP 2009
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User Comments
There are 7 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 7 of 7 comments
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agnello
Posted Tue 5 May, 10:55 am UTC Flag as inappropriate
great rider.
pity he can't finish with the mouth as well as track cycling.
sure class will come with age.
now go and bag a few in Italia...
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Bigmiksears
Posted Tue 5 May, 11:42 am UTC Flag as inappropriate
the fact of the matter is - is that sports in the UK only get funding based on their performances at the olympics. British cycling has focused on track cycling because you can get more money from track events (as their are far more) than you can from the road events, 2 road race and ITT. Its fair enough to say that Cavendish is a product of that olympic sucess as he is a product of their development squads. I doubt cav would have been where he is today without that funding behind him.
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keeno
Posted Tue 5 May, 1:55 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
To be fair, the actual things he's said (that is, what is in the quotation marks in this article) seem fairly sensible, and are worded in reasonably calm language, just explaining that for him, the olympics is not, and is never going to be, his main event. What makes him look like a prick is saying that he's 'hot out at the nations obesession with the games' and 'complained that he failed to receive the backing he deserved from the british team'.
What did he actually say to that effect?
This is pretty rubbish journalism, and using that daft picture doesn't help his image either.
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darrenfrench745@msn.com
Posted Tue 5 May, 4:01 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
I think at the moment he is the best sprinter on the planet, and he probably feels a bit peeved that he left last years tour early to do Beijing and then came away empty handed.Having said that, He had another go at the Madison, fair play. Ok he does have a bit of a mouth on him but I am sure 90percent of the people reading this would have, if they had the same degree of success.Go get 'em Cav.
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whitlst2
Posted Tue 5 May, 11:16 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Go Cav ! Being a roadie myself out in the streets of France , Spain and of course italia and the Giro is where it counts. A few wins and you never know even the BBC news might give road cycling and Cav a mention..... Hmmm maybe not there might be some Golf in the USA or Darts at the Riverside, all highly trained athelites! ;-)
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throwdown
Posted Wed 6 May, 2:01 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
I'm not sure I understand. The article says he "complained about backing", but none of the quotes back that up. I agree with keeno, this is terrible journalism and inaccurate. Cav is one of the best young riders in the world, he says what he thinks and doesn't sugar coat it; I respect that in a person and admire him as a rider.
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nick hanson
Posted Wed 6 May, 3:05 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
I saw the interview on tv,& Cav came across as totally rational.He was just stating that in the eyes of a roadman,The likes of Milan-San remo come higher in the prestige tables than the olympics
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