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Sir Mark Cavendish has again not ruled out continuing racing in some form, but has revealed he aims to run a marathon next year, in a wide-ranging interview.
The Astana-Qazaqstan rider, who is believed to be set to retire at the end of the year, used a piece with Men’s Health magazine to say that he hasn’t “entirely committed” to what’s next, only that he will not be riding another Tour de France.
The 39-year-old, the most successful male sprinter in history, the man with the most Tour de France stage wins, also said that he planned to stay in cycling post-racing, wanting to step into management.
“I’m still racing this year, I’m contracted until December. I’ve got races in the Far East in October,” Cavendish said. “What is guaranteed is that I’m never doing the Tour de France again.”
He is set to ride the Tour de France Saitama and Singapore Criteriums next month, thought to be his final races as a professional, but he stopped short of ruling out further races.
Last year, he announced his retirement at the Giro d’Italia but reversed his decision after crashing out of the Tour de France on the road to Limoges.
“I changed my mind so much over a three-month spell,” he explained. “I crashed out and I had good and bad luck, but I thought that was it. People said to me, I can’t finish like that. But I’m the one person who knows how fucking hard it is. I chopped and changed my mind from day to day and even now, I haven’t entirely committed to what I’m doing, except for the fact that I cannot prepare for the Tour ever again. Cycling is hard enough, the Tour is another level. That is a dead cert.”
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“For me, though, it’s not about stopping, it’s about starting something new,” he continued. “I will always ride a bike, but the past few years I’ve known what I want to do after. I’ve set the wheels in motion for that. I want to stay in management in the sport, I still love it. I brought a lot of people to this team [Astana Qazaqstan] over the past two years, and I know what it takes to be successful. I’ve been building up to the moment I’m not racing.”
In terms of what will fill his time post-cycling, Cavendish revealed that he will be seen pounding the pavement in the spring.
“I will always ride my bike, but I want to run now,” he said. “It’s pure – get your shoes on and off you go! I’ve already agreed to do the Paris Marathon with my brother. He started cycling before I did, and he was better than I was. Past four years, he’s started to get fit. He’s riding and started running. For the first time since we were kids, he’s lighter than me.
“I’m really looking forward to the time when I don’t have to wake up and do a specific programme on a computer. I can just ride with my friends, it doesn’t matter if I go fast or slow.”
Cavendish also explained that he has changed as an athlete in his later years in the sport.
“I feel old now,” he said. “I feel broken. It takes me a while to get going. These days, I’m like a diesel engine – which I never was before.
“When I’m on the bike, it takes me an hour before I start to do intervals and all of that. I’m not going to injure myself, but I’m never going to get the best out of myself unless I’m warm. Just to get fit in general now, it’s so fucking hard.”
He was knighted this month in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
“When recognition comes as a result of another pursuit, it hits differently, because it’s not something I aimed for,” he said. “It has been bestowed upon me. It doesn’t matter what you do in life, where you are from or how old you are – positive recognition is what we strive for. It’s impossible not to feel nice from it.”
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