Why is cavendish fast

Cavendish comes as a package. The other half is the Australian Renshaw, his lead-out man at both HTC and Quick Step, as essential to his sprint successes as the bike between his legs. We are like the anti-each other. I'm quite angsty, always moving, always on edge. Mark is always calm, relaxed, almost boring. We could say the same thing, but it comes across so different. He'll just say it, but I'll scream it. Mark is definitely one of them. He's on the highest rank.

I don't even have to think if I trust him. With Mark it's as simple as just following him. He'll get it bang on where he has to be. He rides like he's riding a tandem, so if he goes through a space there has to be space for me to get through as well. If we move in the wind he stays a little bit out so I'm sheltered as well. You can't imagine saying to many sports people that that their role is entirely for someone else.

It's a special, special thing, but we have a very good relationship. If he does it right, I'm going to finish it off. Faces in the crowd flashing by, your team-mates bailing one by one. Riding in Renshaw's slipstream, a rocket waiting for the final fuel tank to drop away. If you're talking an idealised stage, if everything has gone smoothly in a lead-out, if there's no corners, no wind, zero incline, same gradient… metres, probably.

If it's slightly downhill you'll go slightly earlier, if there's a slight headwind you'll go slightly later. Head low over the bars, covering each metre in less than 0.

I always trained my sprint over-distance so that I can go earlier if need be. A lot of guys would die, but I've always trained for it.

You don't see it after the line, because we're smiling. But if you see the tent that we're in straight afterwards, you just collapse. So if you can leave it late, you do - but you run the risk of someone coming round you, of boxing you in, and then you don't win anyway. This is it. Renshaw dies. What is left in those pumping legs? When I went, I felt great the second before I kicked. I felt a surge. Three seconds later I had to sit down.

I had to sit down. Yet two seconds before I'd felt brilliant. On the last stage of the Tour of California , I spent the whole day thinking I was going to be dropped.

Even on the last lap, following Mark, I was thinking, hmm. Normally from the last kilometre you put it in your biggest gear.

But I did, and I had to put it back down a gear, because my legs wouldn't do it. Nobody was passing. I looked, and we were still in one line. So I thought, I'll try to sprint. And when I went, I went with such speed that I knew in that moment I would win by two or three bike lengths.

Where in the body do you die first - in screaming lungs, in maxed-out heart, in lactic-drenched legs? That's the sensation you get. The favoured team-mates have been testing their equipment ahead of the event in Belgium. The organiser of the Italian Grand Tour has confirmed the stages for the edition.

Five years after his unforgettable victory with Sir Bradley Wiggins, and two years after his last appearance, Cavendish is back on the boards in Belgium. The year-old Colombian has won two of the three Grand Tours with the Tour de France missing off the list.

Just five of the 21 days of racing which could see the fight for yellow tipped on its head. There are barely any easy kilometres in store on a route that demands attacking, daring riding. The sprinter has shared his thoughts after his former coach passed away. Cavendish will race in the World Championships on Sunday 26 September, but needed to get some miles in his legs in London. Cycling Weekly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

Visit our corporate site. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number Cycling Weekly EST. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Daniel McMahon. Mark Cavendish, the fastest rider at the Tour de France, has won two stages at this year's race. But when the "Manx Missile" celebrates as he crosses the finish line, his chain sometimes falls off.

With this win, Cavendish confirmed his status as the fastest sprinter at the time, while Mark Renshaw was labeled the best lead-out man in the business, without a doubt.

Fast forward to minute Renshaw gets disqualified from the rest of the Tour after headbutting members from Garmin Slipstream while leading Cavendish into the win. He has not won another points competition since.

After sacrificing teammates early in the race, Cavendish wins without a lead-out train. In his World Champs jersey, he leapfrogged from one rider's draft to the next and started his sprint from the 10th wheel.

For fans of the Manx Missile, this was a hard stage to watch, as Cavendish crashed out of contention in the opening sprint and was forced to drop out with a separated shoulder. The video shows him making contact with Simon Gerrans before the line, with both riders hitting the deck as Marcel Kittel went on to win the stage.