Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Racing => Topic started by: Ewan Houzami on 20 August, 2012, 02:06:44 am
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/19/mark-cavendish-team-sky-bradley-wiggins
It's hardly a surprise and makes perfect sense. There's no way it'd be worth his while hanging around for more than another season, and he's likely to get some seriously lucrative offers. This time next year, I'm sure we'll see a similar thing with either Froome or Wiggins. Sky just has an embarrassment of talent.
I'm trying to think where he'll end up. Is there a Belgian or Italian team without a strong sprinter? Or maybe a team with an established sprinter who'll have to move aside for His Cavship (with hilarious consequences)?
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I think the rumour is that Omega are interested. They have Boonen, Ciolek and Steegmans(last Chaps Elysees winner pre-Cavendish) as sprinters (maybe more) but Cavendish could step right in as stage sprinter leaving the others for the classics or helping with the lead-out, with Tony Martin. Not too many noses put out of joint.
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I'm trying to think where he'll end up. Is there a Belgian or Italian team without a strong sprinter? Or maybe a team with an established sprinter who'll have to move aside for His Cavship (with hilarious consequences)?
Personally, I think he'd be making a big mistake unless he could find a team that combines the level of technical support Sky offers its riders with the ability to provide a decent lead-out train (not OPQ, then), but that does not already have a decent sprinter. I can't think of one.
Be careful what you wish for, Mr Cavendish.
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My understanding is that Sky's ambitions are around winning Grand Tours.
It's difficult (to say the least) to do this and support a sprinter with a train. Dave B has already indicated that Cav would be free to go, if he got a good offer.
Cav hasn't got the best contract in the world with Sky, a lot was about the Olympic Road Race this year. He has 3, 4 maybe 5 years at the top to make some money. An extra £2million a year for 3 or 4 years will help to set him, and his family, up (and there's a new McLaren due out soon 8))
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All true, Giropaul, but where's he going to go? Can you see a team where he'd do better in cycling terms?
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His target has to be the most number of TdF stages won, surely?
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I'm not convinced he'll go...
For a start there's the matter of who can afford him? Forget who doesn't have a sprinter, etc. - this is the most important consideration. OPQ is being bandied around because at the Tour de France, Cav's former HTC DS (and good friend) Brian Holm started telling everyone Cav was unhappy. Brian Holm is of course a DS at OPQ. ::-)
Secondly, would Sky's plans have changed that much from when he signed for them to the Tour? Since their inception the team have stated that they were going for GC. OK there was some PR stuff at the start of this year about going for the Green jersey too but the way they lined up for, and the way they rode, Paris-Nice in March showed how they were going to tackle the Tour.
Cav won three stages at this year's Tour and was unlucky to crash in the finale of another - and we know from experience that if he's in the mix at that point he'll probably win. It's a measure of his quality that this is seen as failure in some way. Of course if the target is the Green jersey, then I suppose it is. In my opinion it's the changes to the points competition that have partly undone him at Sky as a team racing for GC cannot chase down breaks or delay a break getting away just to pick up the intermediate points. Which is ironic as the changes were designed specifically to enable a serial stage winner like Cav to win Green.
I don't think he has to move to win stages at grand tours or have another crack at Milan-San Remo, or races like Paris-Tours. But if he wants to move to win the Green jersey again, then he's going to have to find a team dedicated to him with the quality of riders that were at HTC. Then he has to hope Sagan isn't riding.
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We've heard this before from Cav, a few years ago Sky was the team he wanted to join because it was where he could further his ambition. Maybe he's a bit restless. Plenty of sprint wins in him, whatever the jersey.
However, the most telling part of the article is this:
At Sky we have set a precedent now. If we are going to dominate cycling and win three grand tours in a year, we have to start building to that GC [general classification] thing. Unfortunately for Mark, as we saw in the Tour, the two don't really go well together.
Assuming that Froome stays and goes for the Vuelta, does this mean that Wiggins is aiming for the Giro-Tour double next year?
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Assuming that Froome stays and goes for the Vuelta, does this mean that Wiggins is aiming for the Giro-Tour double next year?
I think we'll see them target a rider for each Grand Tour. So Wiggins for the Tour de France, Froome for the Vuelta and Someone Else for the Giro - someone who's a good climber and possibly not British.
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Bikenrrd is probably right. And my bet would be that it would be an italian or spanish rider, given the target markets that the major sponsor has.
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Rigoberto Uran was their guy at the Giro this year (7th, +6 minutes and White Jersey) and seems to have plenty of potential with the right support, but it's not just the GC guy, but having the strength in depth to support their chosen guy (whoever he is) in each GT. Cav missed out on the Sprinter's Jersey by a single point, so it isn't impossible to combine your ambitions, just very difficult.
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Then he has to hope Sagan isn't riding.
I think a team would do well to employ both Cav and Sagan. They could clean up on the non-mountainous stages. Sagan will dominate the long, hard sprints for a few years I think, whilst Cav could continue to grab the pure sprinter's stages (with Sagan assisting in the lead out).
The combination of Wiggins and Froome, going for GC, may force other teams to look to stage wins as their only chance of publicity. Sagan and Cav are as good a bet as anyone for amassing stage wins, even more so if Cav is the focus of a team's ambitions.
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Cav hasn't got the best contract in the world with Sky, a lot was about the Olympic Road Race this year. He has 3, 4 maybe 5 years at the top to make some money. An extra £2million a year for 3 or 4 years will help to set him, and his family, up (and there's a new McLaren due out soon 8))
I was thinking his career had potentially another ten seasons. Think of sprinters like Zabel, Bettini, McEwen, and Cippolini who kept performing at the top of their game well into their late thirties. Though how long it will be before some as yet unknown youngster comes snapping at his heels, or he's simply had enough, is another matter I suppose, (That Ferrari kid looked a bit frightening earlier this year when he caught Cav on the hop, or maybe he got lucky).
I hadn't heard what Brian Holm had said post Tour about Cav being unhappy, but OPQ would still be my guess; I don't know why but OPQ feels more right for Cav than Sky is, or ever was (national loyalties aside). A historically strong sprinting team that's losing market presence in Grand Tour stage wins. I reckon the sponsors will happily dig deep to buy him out.
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Cavendish spent the period from 2007 to 2011 in the same team, it changed its name a few times, but it was the same German team. That team then folded, and Cav moved to the team with the most money.
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Cavendish spent the period from 2007 to 2011 in the same team, it changed its name a few times, but it was the same German team. That team then folded, and Cav moved to the team with the most money.
BMC are the biggest budget team.
Sky had a lot more to offer Cav than just money. Rod Ellingworth's presence, is just one example.
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BMC are the biggest budget team.
... which doesn't seem to have done them much good this year!
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Looks like Sky have already lost one of their most valuable team members: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flecha-to-leave-sky-for-vacansoleil
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flecha-to-leave-sky-for-vacansoleil)
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It's a bit difficult to disentagle the budget for the Sky Pro Team from the funding for British Cycling. Dave Brailsford is performance director for British Cycling as well as general manager of Team Sky.
An interesting story from 2007 emerged in this year's Tour coverage.
One of the reasons for Brailsford being here at the Tour, he explains – and apart from riding l'Etape du Tour in a few days' time – is to negotiate some of the British riders' contracts. He is almost, it seems, acting as their agent, which is curious. But this too has highlighted a problem – or an opportunity. The problem is that the riders are contracted to, and under the control of, teams that operate independently of British Cycling, and with fundamentally different – even opposed – priorities.
They are not, for example, remotely interested in the Olympics.
Which is a problem for Brailsford, and a frustration. The riders in question, with Cavendish and Thomas to the fore, have been nurtured and developed by British Cycling.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/22/tour-de-france-bradley-wiggins-star
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It's worth remembering that if Cav is the nominated rider for a win at the Worlds we will see a rerun of the Olympics. A hint of dissent stirs the pot up a bit.
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Sky had a lot more to offer Cav than just money. Rod Ellingworth's presence, is just one example.
And he has gained from this experience so now he can move on.
Willing to bet a large sum of money that Cav will be leaving Sky.
Wiggins has suggested it is a sensible move and Brailsford has said he would neither stand in the way or make life difficult; both are laying the foundations for a move.
Where to is another question, but no doubt whatsoever that he will be leaving.
Anyone up for a bet on Cav leaving?
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Anyone up for a bet on Cav leaving?
IMHO he'll probably leave sooner or later. Whether this will be good for him is another matter.
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Anyone up for a bet on Cav leaving?
Greenedge anyone?
They have the train, they just need someone to finish off all the hard work.
I know it is an Australian team, and there is a certain level of frisson between the two nations, but the logic is there. Not all the riders are Ozzie anyway.
Depends on how deep the owner wants to put his hand in his pockets.
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It's a bit difficult to disentagle the budget for the Sky Pro Team from the funding for British Cycling.
Sky Pro Cycling's budget. (http://inrng.com/2012/08/team-sky-budget-accounts/) They only have 3 full-time staff.
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It's a bit difficult to disentagle the budget for the Sky Pro Team from the funding for British Cycling.
Sky Pro Cycling's budget. (http://inrng.com/2012/08/team-sky-budget-accounts/) They only have 3 full-time staff.
Just sayin' but early last year I was on a commercial for Sky with Andy Gray and Richard Keys* (a week before the 'lineswoman' hoo-haa resulting in their sacking) and spoke to one of their marketing directors who informed me Sky's spend on cycling was about £11 million for that year, which seems to roughly correlate with the article from Inrng - who seems to be the go-to purveyor of pro-cycling gossip at the moment.
*yes, I'm name-dropping ;D
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Deloitte were commissioned to look into the overlap between Team Sky and British Cycling.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/16/team-sky-british-cycling
They probably liked what they saw because they ended up sponsoring an End to End.
http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/
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Cav said at the beginning of the season (don't remember where) that Sky's set up was one of the biggest factors influencing his move there. This could have been linked to his Olympic hopes.
What Brad said definitely makes sense. They will be chasing GC for the coming seasons which prevents Cav having the support he needs (such as lead out train) to get 5 or 6 stage wins in a grand tour.
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The Sky setup is the backroom staff and organisation. The proper managing and nurturing of riders, logistics etc. Sky have taken teh approach of 'what do we want to deliver? What do we need to put in place to achieve that?' rather than 'what do other teams do?' And so we see developements like for the time trials where they have carefully calculated and individually tailored warm up and warm down. They put in place the structures that support their goals, and the infrastructure to ensure it just works. And so far they have been very successful. Yes they do have some excellent riders, but so many others in teh pro peloton could do much better with a Sky type approach. And it isn't just about money (though that is a great enabling force.)
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Well my vote's for Cav to leave - we are in the transfer window now of course. He wanted the Olympics Gold, and that attempt failed despite Sky's support in training him for it. No reason for him to stay at Sky (if he still wants to be a pure sprinter and not a spring calssics rider), and I think he'd be able to attract sponsorship to a team that employed him as a pure sprinter, and also other riders to act as his lead-out.
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He was probably just caught up in the euphoria, but towards the end of the BBC's Olympics coverage he expressed a keen desire to compete on the track in Rio. In which case, if he does leave Sky, he'll want to minimise any bridge-burning with Brailsford & co.
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He was probably just caught up in the euphoria, but towards the end of the BBC's Olympics coverage he expressed a keen desire to compete on the track in Rio. In which case, if he does leave Sky, he'll want to minimise any bridge-burning with Brailsford & co.
I heard that comment as well.
I wonder if maybe he could be a replacement for Chris Hoy in the Keirin as a result of his sprint ability.
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I wonder if maybe he could be a replacement for Chris Hoy in the Keirin as a result of his sprint ability.
Maybe we could find out at the commonwealth games?
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The Sky setup is the backroom staff and organisation. The proper managing and nurturing of riders, logistics etc. Sky have taken teh approach of 'what do we want to deliver? What do we need to put in place to achieve that?' rather than 'what do other teams do?' And so we see developements like for the time trials where they have carefully calculated and individually tailored warm up and warm down. They put in place the structures that support their goals, and the infrastructure to ensure it just works. And so far they have been very successful. Yes they do have some excellent riders, but so many others in teh pro peloton could do much better with a Sky type approach. And it isn't just about money (though that is a great enabling force.)
Yes - and perhaps as Sky riders staff move to other teams, they'll spread those ideas with them. In which case we could be in for a general step change with other teams moving up to Sky's level as they become more 'logistical'.
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Some of the ideas were already coming in from Slipstream, the idea of centralised bases for the riders and better support to reduce the temptation to dope.
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I wonder if maybe he could be a replacement for Chris Hoy in the Keirin as a result of his sprint ability.
Maybe we could find out at the commonwealth games?
He'll be riding for the Isle of Man, so he won't replace anyone.
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I wonder if maybe he could be a replacement for Chris Hoy in the Keirin as a result of his sprint ability.
Maybe we could find out at the commonwealth games?
Well, he'd be up against Hoy in that case, and unless Cav drops out of road racing altogether to concentrate on track sprinting for the next two seasons, he'll be eaten up and spat out. Track sprinting is just too specialised a discipline. Hoy's training regime leading up the Olympics was full-time - in the gym, on the track, or on a stationary bike in the lab, sprinting to the point of throwing up. Does Cav really want to put himself through that, given the outstanding goals he's still like to pursue on the road? As mentioned upthread, he was most likely caught up in the euphoria.
Cav's track background was the long endurance events - scratch, points and Madison. Given that the points and Madison were dropped, the best event for him would be the omnium, or the team pursuit, and then there is still the question of whether he's up to putting himself through the training regime for the TP. When Lizzie Armitstead was being interviewed on The Cycling Show last night, she said that the one thing she didn't miss after switching from track to road was the regimented nature of the training.
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I don't actually think he'll do it, but the omnium is his only realistic option. He could do well in the points, scratch, elimination and possibly the flying lap with minimal disruption to his road career (like Viviani). I don't think Team GB will be interested though, the young riders they're investing in will take priority.
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I don't think Team GB will be interested though, the young riders they're investing in will take priority.
Team GB are interested in winning and if Cav has the 'numbers' good enough to ride an event, whatever they decide is best suited to his ability, then he will ride (IMO). Regards training, he will have to do what is required and G missed the TDF in order ro prepare for the Olympics. Cav could do the Giro, Olympics and Vuelta in one season, by which time he will probably have more TDF stage wins than anyone else. Perfect plan!
Cav is burning no bridges with Brailsford by moving as Brailsford has already set all the 'mood music' in place for a move to take place.
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In financial terms, a rider like Cav is a double-edged sword - he's not going to leave Sky for peanuts, but he'll bring with him a huge amount of press attention. Cav is trusted as a clean rider, which is a big draw for sponsors - nobody wants to be the next Festina. A team due to renegotiate their sponsorship contracts could potentially pay off his transfer fee before the ink is wet on his signature.
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I read that the Sky riders have been served a muzzling order. Not surprising after Wiggin's (once again ill-chosen) comments.
Personally I hope he moves, but not to BMC. He needs a team without strong GC ambitions. Omega Pharma or Katusha look a better match. The Katusha Rocket ?
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In financial terms, a rider like Cav is a double-edged sword - he's not going to leave Sky for peanuts, but he'll bring with him a huge amount of press attention. Cav is trusted as a clean rider, which is a big draw for sponsors - nobody wants to be the next Festina. A team due to renegotiate their sponsorship contracts could potentially pay off his transfer fee before the ink is wet on his signature.
There's a report in the Times today about how the "transfer fee" could scupper a move for Cavendish from Team Sky. He's got two years left on a contract that's understood to be worth £2.5 million a year, and Team Sky are insisting that they receive seven-figure compensation for releasing the sprinter. So it's down to whether OPQS are willing or able to pony up £2.5-£5 million, before they even start paying his wages...
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Do you think Sky might have got Cav in order to stop ant other team getting any publicity with a British rider?
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"A source close to Team Sky" reckons Cav's going (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-cavendish-confirmed-to-leave-team-sky)
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Get him out of the way before the Worlds, I don't want a repeat of the Olympics.
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Get him out of the way before the Worlds, I don't want a repeat of the Olympics.
1) Transfers don't take effect until the end of the year.
2) Team GB can take more riders to the Worlds than were allowed for the Games, so the factors that led to the failure of Plan A-Z (Cav in the sprint on the Mall) don't apply, or at least, not as much.
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3) Cav doesn't stand an earthly at the Worlds this year.
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3) Cav doesn't stand an earthly at the Worlds this year.
Quite so.
The course at last year's Worlds was perfect for Cav, and IIRC Team GB even announced what their game plan was as soon as it was unveiled. Having the maximum team allowance meant we had 8 guys riding for Cav, which made it easier to stick to the game plan.
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What have the Worlds got to do with which pro team he rides for ?
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"The news of Mark Cavendish leaving Team Sky at the end of 2012 has been confirmed by a Norwegian website, Procycling.no.
Te website claims that “a source close to Team Sky” has confirmed that the Manxman will indeed end his associations with the British team by the end of this season."
http://blogs.bettor.com/Mark-Cavendishs-exit-from-Team-Sky-confirmed-a184778
Hmmm
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From the link above:
The cyclist marked his professional debut with Team Sparkasse in 2005 and stayed with the team for period of two years.
Most of his stay has been with Team T-Mobile which he joined in 2006 and devoted as many as six years of his professional career with the team.
Team T-Mobile announced its demise by the end of 2011 season due to financial constraints and Cavendish had to find a new home to continue his professional pursuit.
He was approached by the British side, Team Sky in 2012 and the cyclist accepted to ride with the team throughout 2012 season.
I know High Road were the company behind T-Mobile, but T-Mobile finished in 2007, followed by various combinations of HTC/High Road/Columbia. This is what happens when you believe everyrhing Wikipedia tells you!
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Well, Highroad was the continuation of T-Mobile, paid for the next year by T-Mobile sponsorship money but T-Mobile didn't want their name associated with dopers. Highroad got several sponsors after that but was the same basic organisation.
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Not Cavski
the Manxman will not be joining Katusha, according to directeur sportif Valerio Piva.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cavendish-not-coming-to-katusha-says-piva?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0
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Cav confirms that he wants out from Sky:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/9530857/Mark-Cavendish-breaks-long-silence-to-confirm-he-wants-a-move-away-from-Team-Sky.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/08/mark-cavendish-team-sky
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The Telegraph article mentions a possible move to Omega Pharma Liquigas. Now I'm totally confused. (Probably an error)
Wherever he ends up, I'm sure our Mark will gush effusively, in his endearingly narcissistic, insecure way ;), about 'this is the kind of team set-up which feels perfect for me, and is my natural home' etc!
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The current liquigas team have new sponsorship. Something like brixia I think it was.
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The Telegraph article mentions a possible move to Omega Pharma Liquigas. Now I'm totally confused. (Probably an error)
Wherever he ends up, I'm sure our Mark will gush effusively, in his endearingly narcissistic, insecure way ;), about 'this is the kind of team set-up which feels perfect for me, and is my natural home' etc!
Really? Never struck me that way.
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All this talk about the financial stuff - is it really up to Dave Brailsford personally like the press make out? I would have thought $ky would have something to say about all that...
I suppose Sky might be happy for him to go - it would save them a fortune in wages over the next 2 years!
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It just describes a certain fragility he has, that comes across to me when he's interviewed. I was using it in the analytic sense and didn't mean to give the impression I think he's a vain, selfish a*sehole, as some might understand the word. We all as human beings have a bit of it to be honest, but admittedly it wasn't a necessary comment. So apols if anyone took issue.
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Lol, not taking issue, I just didn't think him particularly "self regarding" - well no more than most :)
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Just seen a brief interview on BBC News 24 after his win today and he was asked if he's leaving Sky. He hesitated and said something like "I might be". I got the distinct impression that there was a real possibility he could be persuaded to stay, and that it wasn't just an attempt to evade answering.
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I wouldn't be disappointed if he did, DB appears to be handling things as capably as ever so i don't think Cav would suffer from a move.
Hats off to him for showing enough modesty to be a bottle carrier during the TdF this year, that really was great to see, but wouldn't it make Sky an even more effective team chasing GC on Grand Tours if they had another two strong all-rounders rather than a sprinter and his helper?
Might be a better way to seek to consolidate this years TdF if you had 3 or 4 guys with a chance of holding a decent place on GC, especially if they were credible stage winners - if you had Bradders/Froome placed on GC you could send EBH or G up the road for the stage win, and/or time on GC, and still have enough strength to maintain main GC.
Note to self, stop saying GC. :-*
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Didn't hear any gossip about him leaving when I was "inside" the ToB yesterday. Heard plenty of other gossip though.
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Didn't hear any gossip about him leaving when I was "inside" the ToB yesterday. Heard plenty of other gossip though.
Ooh, you rotten tease ;D
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You'll have to go over to the Tour of Britain thread for a bit of JT's gossip.
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Righto then.
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Off he goes....
Cycling Weekly (http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/534997/sky-to-release-cavendish-for-free.html)
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So Cav is off, probably to OPQS. And without a buy out of his contract, financially in any case. I wonder what favours Sky will call in in return for the waived fee.. My guess is that there will be far more to this than meets the eye.
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And it looks like Bernie s staying, which is interesting.
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So Cav is off, probably to OPQS. And without a buy out of his contract, financially in any case. I wonder what favours Sky will call in in return for the waived fee.. My guess is that there will be far more to this than meets the eye.
my thoughst too.
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And it looks like Bernie s staying, which is interesting.
A good classics rider and Sky need to improve their showing in the classics. And probably fed up of being minder to the moody little Manxman.
So Cav is off, probably to OPQS. And without a buy out of his contract, financially in any case. I wonder what favours Sky will call in in return for the waived fee.. My guess is that there will be far more to this than meets the eye.
my thoughst too.
Remember they didn't pay anything to sign Cav from another team - this isn't football. Plus any wins he gets won't be at the expense of Sky who won't have a top-level sprinter and will be aiming for GC rather than stage wins. Cav will also be one of the highest earners on the team so cancelling his contract isn't as bad as it seems. Plus it keeps him on-side for future Team GB/BC duty.
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This is taking too long.
I want to know where he is going already.
C'mon - hurry up!
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It's clearly going to be OPQS
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With Cav at OPQS, Greipel at Lotto and Goss at GreenEdge, no wonder Freire has decided it's a good time to retire.
d.
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With Cav at OPQS, Greipel at Lotto and Goss at GreenEdge, no wonder Freire has decided it's a good time to retire.
d.
Not forgetting that new German at Argos-Shimano: Degenkolb. He is very close to being the finished product. He has to be slotting in above Goss in the pecking order.
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It makes for a good year when Cav has some decent competition. Cav, Degenkolb, Sagan, Greipel, and on a good day Goss, Farrar, Haedo
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Not forgetting that new German at Argos-Shimano: Degenkolb. He is very close to being the finished product. He has to be slotting in above Goss in the pecking order.
Good point. And I agree - I'd rate him above Goss as a rival to Cav. He just slipped my mind before.
Farrar seems to have lost his edge. But he's had some rotten luck this year - wonder if his self-confidence is shot?
d.
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And Kittel
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I think Farrar suffered very much when Wouter Weylants died. Never been the same since.
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Finally!
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Hooray! Looking forward to seeing him in OMFG colours next year..
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"I'm sure I'll be very happy here. It's my natural home etc" ;D
:thumbsup: Cav
De Britse spurtbom's transfer is quite rightly the headline article in The Newssheet!
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/
Edit: Well, it was at 6pm
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Bought out of his contract (at least partially) by Specialized it seems.
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Sky weren't as good as they could have been (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/i-was-a-back-up-rider-for-sky-at-tour-de-france-says-cavendish)
It looks like Cav is burning bridges with DB a bit. Perhaps he doesn't want to go to Rio on the Team Pursuit after all. At least his grapes aren't as sour as Wendy Houvenaghel's. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19147279)
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Mark Cavendish is bright, and a realist. Professional cycling is about making money, and to do this he needs wins. Sprinters don't last as long as rouleurs; and need continued good seasons, which equal as much money as possible, until they fade. Given Sky's target of winning all 3 Grand Tours there wouldn't be a lot of support left for a lead out train. All the new Sky signings so far are climbers - domesiques for the Tours.
Specialized missed Cavendish and his high profile, and have big money to get him back. Remember the stories that Specialized were trying to supply Sky in 2013?
David Brailsford is a pragmatist (well, mostly, maybe not so much about doping!). Mark Cavendish doesn't fit into the Big Plan; but it was useful to have him with Sky in the Olympic year. If Mark does want to ride the track at Rio, and can commit to the build up regime, I can't see him being excluded - as long as, like anyone, he can "make the numbers".
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This almost brought a tear to my eye...
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/11/news/hes-leaving-home-bye-bye-bernard-eisel-mark-cavendish-reach-a-professional-parting-of-the-ways_265586
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Bernhard Eisel:
“Right now, I am very happy with this team. We have a big project with the classics and I am a big part of that for next year.”
Not quite as big as other projects the team may be planning for next year, but good luck to him.