The greatest ever British sprinter Mark Cavendish has announced that he will ride in all of three big races of the cycling season.
Cavendish, speaking at a press conference in London today for the Giro d'Italia confirmed that he will ride the Italian race, The Tour De France and The Vuelta Espana this season.
Speaking to our friends at cyclingnews.com, Cavendish said about the Giro which starts in Turin on May 7th and ends in Milan twenty two days later: "I love the country, the Giro and the passion of the race. I had some great success in the Giro and other races such as Milan-San Remo in 2009. They're some of my fondest memories, so it’s great to go back there and race.
"It's a beautiful Giro this year and it starts with a team time trial. We won the team time trial in 2009 and I got the maglia rosa and won three other stages. It was a special race for me and so it's back on my programme. To get some results would be incredible.
"For me there are less than seven. There are definitely four sprints and another one or two that could be sprints," he said, speaking about the stages he could be in with a chance of winning.
"They are all in the first half. The first one is the first road day after the team time trial. Then another but they're not easy. Looking at the Livorno finish, there's a climb but it should be a sprint. The finish in Tuscany could be a battle between Bennati and Petacchi, the two Tuscans. That'll be important for me. Then there's stage eight and then stage twelve."
"But we're going for much more than sprint wins. We've got a strong team and so we're going for the team time trial too."
Cavendish won two stages in the 2008 Giro d'Italia and others in 2009. He rode the Amgen Tour of California in 2010 but seems happy to be heading back to Italy in May.
"It was a really important moment in my career," he said.
"I did the Tour in 2007, it was my first Grand Tour but it wasn't that successful. The Giro in 2008 was the first Grand Tour I finished and I got two stage wins. It was a massive boost racing 21 days solid and winning and racing against the best guys in the world. It was a really big stepping stone to who I am today. It helped make me what I am."
Cavendish is preparing for the Milan-San Remo and will ride the Strade Bianche race on Saturday and then Tirreno-Adriatico as final preparation for the Classicissima.
Pictures copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM