Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) says the confidence is flowing after picking up four stage wins and the points classification jersey at the Amgen Tour of California.
The Etixx-QuickStep man won three times in the first five days and completed the race with victory on the flat Los Angeles circuit on Sunday (May 17) as Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) claimed a shock overall win.
Sagan’s third place on the final stage was enough to overhaul the slender lead of Julian Alaphilippe and grant the Slovakian champion victory, but Cavendish was full of praise for his team’s performance after a week of racing.
And with the Tour de France on the horizon, the 43-time Grand Tour stage winner is relishing the opportunity to add to his glistening palmares in July.
“I’m happy to finish off a strong Amgen Tour of California with my fourth win, and the fifth for the team out of eight stages,” he said after the final stage.
“Really it’s about the team and how we rode all week. We were on the podium every day. We rode so strong. We went for the stage today and still protected Alaphilippe in the GC with some great racing all day, leaving it up to a photo finish in the sprint.
“In the end we got two jerseys, yet another stage win, and a second place overall. I’m super proud of what we’ve done here and think things are going in the right direction ahead of the Tour de France.”
He added: “I’ve been happy with my form all year, which to me is the same as my form last year at this time. Had I not crashed in the first stage of Le Tour in 2014 I am fully confident I could have gone for multiple stages.
“So we’ll see what I can do this year. I’m feeling really good. My team is fully committed and focused. I go next to Tour de Suisse and the British National Championships, and we’ll see what I can do to improve my form even more before July.”
Cavendish’s victories in California showed the full extent of his sprinting talent – winning the first and last stages courtesy of an equally stunning lead-out from Mark Renshaw, while his stage two win owed much to a strong sprint to just out-kick Sagan and take it on the line.
And directeur sportif Brian Holm was keen to pay tribute to the full Etixx-QuickStep team for their efforts in support of the former world champion.
“Cav, we all know he is fast,” he said. “But he can’t win without a bunch sprint. We needed a strong team and they really controlled the race from kilometre zero to the finish in every sprint stage.
“We got some help by Hincapie Racing Team and Tinkoff-Saxo on a stage or two, but it was really up to our riders to chase for Cav. Everybody delivered.
“So I have to say I’m happy with the team as a whole, and also Cavendish for finishing the job four times in eight days. We know he could win here and he did.”
Cavendish’s four wins means he has now won 12 times this season – with four second-place finishes and a third place to complement those wins – more than any other rider.
Alexander Kristoff drops to second in the list of wins this season, with 11, with the two likely to go wheel-to-wheel with Sagan and Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) for sprint supremacy at the Tour.
