Mike Cavendish, a player to look out for in 2011 Tour de France
Mike Cavendish was born in Douglas on May 21, 1985, began riding BMX at a young age and was racing at National Sports Center in Douglas.
Mike has always been a cycling lover as he said, ‘’I was always riding a bike, getting dropped in little races. My mum would laugh at me, and I said it was because all my mates had mountain bikes, so I asked for a mountain bike for my 13th birthday
and got one. The very next day I went out and beat everyone.’’
Cavendish met David Millar at a race on Isle of Man and said he was inspired by Millar. Cavendish knew that he needed money if he wants to go ahead in the cycling career and he wanted to save enough money. It was the same reason that he worked in a bank
for two years right after he left school.
Mark started his career with British Track Cycling team and he was the gold medallist in the Madison at the Los Angeles World Track Championships along with Rob Hayles. It was the first time that Mark and Rob Hayles were cycling together and finished one
lap ahead of the Belgian and Dutch teams. Cavendish won the European Championships Point’s Race in 2005.
In June 2006, Cavendish won two stages, sprint competitions and points during the Tour of Berlin. During the 2006 Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne, Cavendish rode for the Isle of Man. Rob Hayles, Ashley Hutchinson of Australia, and James McCallum of Scotland
were alongside Cavendish, when he finally beat them in the sprint and won the gold medal in 23 minutes and 5 seconds, averaging 51.9 km/h.
Cavendish did not have the best of the start in 2007 and finally got the break-through at the Grote Scheldeprijs Race in Belgium. He overall won the race, while he was unable to finish any of the earlier races same year.
Cavendish started 2011 slowly and was unable to win a race until February, when he finished 1st in the Tour of Oman. Cavendish bagged his second record victory of the season in Grote Scheldeprijs as it was the third win of the particular race
and levelled the record with Piet Oellibrandt’s previous two wins in 2007 and 2008.
Cavendish said, "I am racing a lot this season, and I’ve had some bad luck, so it’s good I can get the wins in, too."
Despite a slow start, this year is coming out to be quite promising for Cavendish as he finished first in the final stage of Tour of Oman, Scheldeprijs Classic, stage ten and twelve in Giro d’ italia, stage five and seven in Tour de France.
During the 2010 Tour of Switzerland, Cavendish was found guilty for a crash that involved himself and Heinrich Haussler at the end of stage sprint. Haussler, Arnaud Coyot and Lloyd Mondory had to quit the race because of the injuries caused by the crash,
but Cavendish continued with the race.
Cavendish received a fine of CHF 200 and a thirty-second penalty. There was a huge protest against Cavendish's riding and style before the start of the next race. Fellow-riders protested and disrupted the race and asserted that Cavendish was short of respect
for his fellow-riders.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: