Mark Cavendish talks about his Scheldeprijs victory

The 20-year old T-Mobile rider outsprinted tough opposition to win last Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs one-day race in Belgium.

“People have asked me before if I was surprised that I could win the Scheldeprijs ahead of Robbie McEwen. But I wasn’t and I’m not.”

“It wasn’t a fluke by any means. I knew what I was capable of doing, and looking back at the win on DVD, I really don’t see how else how I could have raced those last few kilometres.”

Here’s a helicopter shot of the final sprint from Belgian TV:


“I didn’t make a single mistake, I came round the right-hand side of him and it was the long way round. But it was the right way to go,” said Cavendish.
“I’m sure this will change my status in the team a bit, but to be honest that’s not a big deal for me right now.

“I’m very happy with this team, its ethical stance in what are troubled times for the sport of cycling make it a good place to be for a young bike rider like me.”

“I’m also getting a huge amount of support and advice. At the moment I’m living in [T-Mobile team-mate] Roger Hammond’s place in Belgium and he’s spot on, helping me out and telling me loads of stuff about races and so on.

“But [team managers] Allan Peiper and Brian Holm are mines of information too, and they’ve always kept their faith in me, which is great. When I started racing as a pro the fact it was so fast and so hard really knocked me backwards for a bit.

“I really don’t know whether this win in Belgium will mean I end up doing the Tour de France [which starts in London on July 7th]. I’m still very young, just 20, so I’m going to have to wait and see. I don’t know if I’ve got the endurance to go through with a three-week race yet.”