No concerns over Cavendish fitness

The team manager for Mark Cavendish says he’s wholly unconcerned by the Manxman’s winter condition.

Omega Pharma-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere was speaking after the ‘Manx Missile’ playfully used his Twitter account.

In a tweet ahead of Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s training camp, Cavendish told followers he was aiming to lose some weight, playfully adding that this particular titbit would be “bait for lazy journalists”.

That tweet and a subsequent photograph of Cavendish togged out for winter training duly sparked the interest of Gazzetta dello Sport, who wondered whether the Manxman’s first sprint of 2014 would be “against the weighing scales”.

Lefevere has declared himself wholly unconcerned by Cavendish’s winter condition, pointing out the important thing is that his sprinter is on top form come the opening stage of the Tour de France on July 5, still six months away.

Cyclingnews.com reports that ‘Cavendish’s early-season condition seems to be a perennial talking point, yet with the exception of 2010, when dental problems delayed his start to the season, the Manxman’s record in the opening weeks of the campaign is a formidable one.

‘For instance, he began his 2013 season with stage victory at the Tour de San Luis, and then followed up with four stage wins and overall victory at the Tour of Qatar. Cavendish will return to the Tour de San Luis this year, before lining up at the new Dubai Tour from February 5-8.’