Mark Cavendish is 'back on track' ahead of his Tour de France record bid, says former leadout man Bernie Eisel
Published 16/05/2024 at 19:09 GMT+1
Just weeks remain until the Tour de France, and one of cycling's - potentially - most glorious feats, as Mark Cavendish looks to overtake Eddy Merckx's record of stage wins. Cavendish crashed out of the Tour last year as he went for his 35th Tour stage win, but he reversed his retirement and is now "back on track," according to former leadout man Bernie Eisel.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) is "back on track" ahead of his Tour de France record bid, says his former leadout man Bernie Eisel.
The 38-year-old aims to be on the start line in Florence on June 29 as he eyes the outright mark of stage wins in the event, with the Briton currently tied with Eddy Merckx on 34.
Eisel, now sports director for Bora-Hansgrohe, formed part of Cavendish's sprint train for a number of years, and opened up on how he sees Cavendish's form, after he took a stage victory at the recent Tour of Hungary.
“It was good to see Cav, he showed the power is there," Eisel told GCN. "It wasn’t really about speed or anything, it was pure power and it seems like he is back on track.
“In Turkey already he wasn’t bad, he just wasn’t contesting the sprints in the end because it was a tough course every day on grippy roads.
"He paid for that a little bit but it seems like the fitness and speed is there now, and he’s still got a few weeks to go [until the Tour].”
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‘So happy’ - Cavendish delighted with win on Stage 2 of Tour of Hungary
Video credit: TNT Sports
“It is just nice to come together for him. We are all joking around that we better make him win this stage of the Tour otherwise he’ll do another year.
“I think it will be well deserved and for cycling as a whole, the whole story is just incredible. He doesn’t have to prove anything anymore and he knows it.
“If we look at the numbers and the Tour stages, he is the best sprinter of all time. At the same time, the span of his career - we’re talking about two decades now dominating the sprints - what else should we discuss?
"There is nobody else who has done this.”
Cavendish's longevity and drive are legendary, as the Manxman has sought to recover from multiple setbacks and doubters during his career.
And even Eisel admitted that he could not have predicted the Briton's success after leaving Bahrain-McLaren (as the team was named then) in 2020.
“People didn’t believe in him anymore, the newspapers were really harsh on him and look, it is a game, he knows it," Eisel said.
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'Project 35 is looking good!' - Cavendish wins Stage 2 sprint at Tour of Hungary
Video credit: TNT Sports
"But how many times did I say ‘ok, that’s it, he’s not going to come back?' I was always sure he was going to win stages again when I was with him and when he was with Quick-Step, but at the time he left Bahrain I thought, ‘this will be a tough one, it is almost impossible now.’ He proved us all wrong, me especially at that point.
“We have happy faces just to see him do that and now he’s on track, he knows how much it means now to do it.
“It is not just about dedication, it is about leaving the family, going out there every day smashing yourself in training and going to altitude training camp as a sprinter - all just for one success in the Tour de France. I mean, it is stupid, at the end of the day, it is stupid. But this is what we are all driven by.
“This is the sport we fell in love with and we give everything for it. It is good to see that he still has that drive after three decades, because we have seen many sprinters who have been on top and it is easy to be on top.
"But to hold the top and to come back there, that is the tricky one - and most of them are retired, but he keeps going.”
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