Mark Cavendish says an Olympic medal would be the missing piece in the jigsaw of his career as he prepares to make a bid for the British team for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Cavendish last competed on the track at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, where he and Sir Bradley Wiggins were unable to add to their world championship gold in the Madison.
But the Manx Missile has been back on the boards and says his comeback is not about earning an Olympic spot but winning a medal.
“I’m not trying just to get a place in the team,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “If I go to Rio, I want to get a result.
“I think an Olympic medal is the only thing missing. I can’t win the Tour de France, but I’ve pretty much won everything else that I can within my physical realm.
“I’ve spent a fair bit of time on the track in Manchester. We’ve done squad sessions with the team pursuit boys twice a week and I’ve done some extra sessions on my own behind the derny, but I need to balance it with my road riding.”
Cavendish rode the Madison with Wiggins at the Revolution Series meeting in Derby earlier this year, and also competed in the omnium.
With his road season with new team, Team Dimension Data, not set to kick-off until the end of January – at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – he will also be free to ride at the UCI Track World Cup event in Hong Kong.
Cavendish insists, however, that the African team – who he joined alongside lead-out man Mark Renshaw this winter – will be his top priority.
“My road season starts at the end of January, so I have to get my base miles in,” he added. “From 2016, I’m a Team Dimension Data rider and that must come first.”
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