Mark Cavendish on a training ride with
the team. His return to racing form has
been a long and cautious journey.
WHAT’S UP WITH MARK AND LOUIS?
Much has been made of the under-performance of two Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka leading
lights over the past couple of seasons. At face value, it is easy to assume that both Mark Cavendish
and Louis Meintjes can’t get out of their own way. Quite the contrary, as Rolf Aldag points out,
revealing that there is far more to both rider’s ‘wilderness years’ than just lacklustre form.
“With Mark it is irrelevant what type of illness he has been suffering from,” explains the team’s
Head of Performance. “Sure, his being down with Epstein-Barr Virus has been a major factor and
focus. But the real issue now is getting him to the point where he is able to train and race properly.
Like any WorldTour rider, not having finished a Grand Tour in a few years has left him without the
racing base required to be competitive. It’s a step-by-step progression really – getting him to a point
where he can train properly, then being able to follow the right wheels in a stage and finally having
the strength and confidence to sprint. A rider simply can’t be competitive if he is empty after every
race. Mark has showed impressive progress at the Tour de Yorkshire and then also in California, with
its succession of brutally long and hilly stages.
“Louis’ challenges have been a mix of everything. The number one reason for his poor form has
been his own super-motivation. There is no such thing as a lazy professional cyclist – quite the
opposite actually. And this is where proper guidance is needed because more is not always better.
Louis spent a long period last year training at 3 000m altitude and was at his Grand Tour weight far
too early. This makes it too difficult for the body to function, especially at the World Tour level. But
Louis has already proved his worth as a rider by finishing twice in the top-10 at the Tour de France.
So he definitely has the ability. Unfortunately he broke his wrist at the Tour of California but his
surgery was successful. We’ll make a call as to whether both him and Mark are ready for the Tour
de France but won’t force them into anything. They’re both world class athletes and we have to be
careful with them.”
20 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019