Team Sky treated Mark Cavendish ‘as a great rider, the boss is Bradley,’ Juan Antonio Flecha
Mark Cavendish’s decision to leave Team Sky after the 2012 season started a debate that Team Sky and David Brailsford would never had thought of.
The cyclist is still under contract with the British team through 2014 but has decided to end his associations with the team and is rumoured to have been contacted by Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step.
His teammate at Team Sky, Juan Antonio Flecha and Sports Director Steven de Jongh has noted that the British team treated Wiggins and Cavendish totally differently.
Flecha cited that Team Sky treated Mark as a good rider but he is not ranked as high as Bradley Wiggins.
“Sky treated him as a great rider, but not the boss,” Flecha told NuSport.nl.
"Bradley has always been the big boss with us. Mark expected maybe the same treatment as Bradley got, he asked for it”.
“Sky treated him as a great rider, but not the boss,” Flecha concluded.
Flecha himself has left Team Sky after spending three years with the team and will now be seen in Team Vacansoleil-DCM colours after accepting a one-year offer from the side.
Antonio marked his professional debut with Team Relax-Fuenlabrada in 2000-01 seasons and accepted a two-year (2002-03) offer from Team iBanesto.com.
He rode with Team Fassa Bortolo through 2004-05 and spent a period of four-years with Team Rabobank (2006-09) before joining the British team for the 2010 season.
Antonio helped Team Sky with several victories in the past three seasons and his admirable performances in the 2012 season include a second overall finish at the Tour de I’ Eurometropole and the Tour of Qatar 2012.
He finished fourth overall at the Ster ZLM Toer, third at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, fourth at the Paris-Roubaix and claimed the red jersey during the 13th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
Flecha noted that, Mark undoubtedly is one of the best Team Sky cyclists but Bradley Wiggins is definitely the Boss.
"The boss is Bradley, since Sky's main goal is always winning the Tour de France and that is why Mark is lower on the ladder than Bradley", he noted.
"I think both sides are not entirely happy,” he said. "It did not turn out as we had hoped. It's not a happy marriage,” Steve de Jongh cited.
The tension between the 27-year-old and the British team started right through the Tour de France 2012 as maximum support was given to Bradley Wiggins and Cavendish could not defend his green jersey.
Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas-Cannondale claimed the top point’s classifications position with as many as 421 points in his bag.
Andre Greipel of Team Lotto Belisol (280 point) and Matthew Harley Goss (268 points) achieved the second and the third positions while Mark could not finish any better than third with 220 points in his bag.
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