Mark Cavendish dreams of running his own team

Mark Cavendish dreams of running his own team

From solo breaks to retirement plans, Mark Cavendish discusses his ambitions and aspirations with our special guest editor

Brian Holm Dimension Data Mark Cavendish Racing Riders

Mark Cavendish dreams of having his own team when he retires from racing. That’s what he tells his former DS Brian Holm in their head to head interview in the latest issue of Rouleur.

Cav has no plans of retiring any time soon but asked by Holm what he envisages doing in eight years time, the multiple Tour de France stage winner says: “my dream is to have a team. I learned a lot from the teams I have been with, and you know that, although I don’t ride for Quick Step, I am still really close with Patrick [Lefevere] and learned a lot from him. 

“For him to have a team for such a long time shows what a good businessman he is, and he tells you straight down the line – I think that is the thing I appreciate about him most. He doesn’t play games.” 

The sprinter’s ambitions are no more elaborate than that: “I want my own team. Simple as that,” he reiterates. But he does concede: “it might even be a track team, I don’t know. We’ll have to see how many people I piss off.” 

Read: Patrick Lefevere – “If I had signed Sagan, I’d have no team anymore” 

There’s a fair bit of banter between Cav and Holm in the interview. The Quick Step DS, who guest edited this 17.8 edition of the magazine, was after all best man at Cavendish’s wedding. But Cav is deadly serious about his dreams in their discussions, including his desire to win a race solo.

“I kind of did when I won the Nationals [2013],” Cav tells the Dane. “There were three of us, and I had some seconds between. If I had really wanted, I could have won that alone, I think.” 

But Holm replies: “I was thinking of Paris-Roubaix, Harelbeke, Wevelgem, Three Days of De Panne – crosswinds, rain, hailstones…” 

“I would like to do it,” says the Manxman. “Talking about how I can’t do anything but sprint is bullshit. [But] I am paid to sprint. What is the point in risking not winning? Do you think I like sitting there, in eighth position behind my team, the whole day? It is quite monotonous, but it’s a job.”

 

 

The pair discuss how his pay-cutting move to Dimension Data, at least in theory, gave Cavendish more freedom in his role. But they also chat about what happens to the dynamic of a race when sprinters do get in the escape. Holm then points out how André Greipel mixes it up in the break  sometimes.

“It’s good that he does it,” says Cav of his rival, “and that he races hard throughout the year.” 

“But anyone can attack on the Kanarieberg [a mid race climb at the Tour of Flanders], anyone can attack after the Marc Madiot sector [number 13 at Paris-Roubaix]. Well, not anyone, but you know what I mean. They are not race-winning moves. I don’t want to attack just to get on TV. I want to attack to win.”

Read: Hard and fast – Brian Holm’s winter fashion rules 

The interview between the two covers a lot of ground from how Cav would like to ride the reinstated Madison at the Olympics with Geraint Thomas and what a standup guy George Hincapie is, to how motorbikes interfere with racing and why a tactical decision by Holm almost destroyed Cavendish’s 2013 Giro.

Cavendish won the stage but “the next two days I was out the arse,” he recalls. 

“And it’s because of this prick.”

 

The post Mark Cavendish dreams of running his own team appeared first on The world's finest cycling magazine.

Brian Holm Dimension Data Mark Cavendish Racing Riders

READ MORE

Demi Vollering 2025

Is FDJ-Suez the team that can help Demi Vollering to Tour de France Femmes redemption?

There are big changes for the Dutch rider in 2025 - will they pay off? Or could leadership issues arise again? 

Read more
Tadej Pogačar to Paris-Roubaix 2025 – Legendary or laughable?

Tadej Pogačar to Paris-Roubaix 2025 – Legendary or laughable?

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider has teased his participation on social media, but is it a legitimate possibility?

Read more
James Knox at the British Road Championships

‘Credit should go to Lefevere for working the market’ - James Knox on Soudal–Quick-Step’s evolution from the cobbles to Tour de France contenders

Now in his sixth year with the Belgian squad, the British rider discusses what has changed following the arrival and performances of Remco Evenepoel

Read more
Portrait of Lukas Nerurkar

‘An altitude camp at the age of seven’ – Lukas Nerurkar on the power of doing things differently

The British rider had a unique upbringing, spending his early childhood in Ethiopia and learning from his marathon runner father – he tells Rouleur about...

Read more
Women's UAE Tour

Women’s UAE Tour 2025: Who will win the four-stage race in the Middle East?

The third edition of the Women's WorldTour race will begin on Thursday, February, 6 2025 

Read more

READ RIDE REPEAT

JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

Get closer to the sport than ever before.

Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

SUBSCRIBE