Mark Cavendish won’t participate within the Giro d’Italia in 2024 in line with Astana Qazaqstan administration, with the Briton choosing a diminished racing program and extra coaching camps prior to creating his bid for a record-breaking thirty fifth Tour de France stage win in July.
Cavendish took half within the Giro in 2023, clinching the win on the final stage into Rome. He then went on to do the Tour de France, ending second in a single stage earlier than crashing out with a damaged collarbone.
Nonetheless, the veteran sprinter appears to be like set for a really totally different build-up to the Tour de France subsequent 12 months, beginning together with his first-ever participation within the revived Tour Colombia following an altitude coaching camp in early February.
The Giro, although, the place Cavendish has received 18 phases so far, just isn’t a part of the plan, though Scheldeprijs, the place Cavendish took third final 12 months, will probably be included because the final race of his first a part of the season in addition to two weeks coaching in Greece.
“We’ll do a second altitude camp for Mark earlier than the Tour,” Astana Qazaqstan workforce supervisor Alexander Vinokourov advised Cyclingnews.
“It’s additionally helpful as a result of the Tour de France may be very mountainous this 12 months, and the primary week” – which features a very arduous opening stage in Italy after which a demanding trek by the Alps on stage 4 – “may be very powerful certainly. We have now to work arduous on how he handles the climbs.”
Whereas recognising that the Giro stage win in Rome represented an enormous enhance to morale, each for Cavendish and for the workforce, Vinokourov mentioned “I don’t assume he’ll do this this 12 months. He’ll do a block of coaching within the mountains after which go direct to the Tour, not go there by way of the Giro.”
“The beginning of the Tour de France will probably be actually arduous and it will likely be actually intense,” new head workforce coach Vasilis Anastopoulos advised Cyclingnews when requested about Cavendish’s boosted concentrate on altitude coaching, “so all the fellows need to be on the highest of their recreation.”
“The sprinters should endure for 5 hours on these phases even earlier than they get to the dash. So that they need to be in the very best bodily situation.”
“That’s why we’ll do two or three altitude camps throughout the season to arrange them as absolute best for the Tour de France.”
“However it’s additionally a part of a course of we’ll do camps, some particular races, then have a restoration interval, camps-races-recovery after which the ultimate preparation for the Tour.”
“Additionally that’s why we skip a number of races this 12 months, cut back round 10 or 12, to focus totally on the very best preparation, with camps in Altea and Calpe, too.”
After additionally stating that Cavendish won’t be doing the Giro, Anastopoulos added, “So Mark will do a pleasant block of races within the first a part of the season, then after Scheldeprijs he’ll have a small break.”
“Then he’s coming to Greece for 2 weeks to coach there, then he’s going to do one other race, then an altitude camp, one other race – after which the Tour de France.”