Mark Cavendish on lead-out men, dangerous behaviour in the bunch and sprinting

Mark Cavendish recently said that the UK is still learning as a cycling nation and he’s clearly willing to do provide an education. Tonight at 7.30pm, Radio 5 will broadcast Mark Cavendish: The Secret World of Sprinting in which the Manxman will talk us through the build-up to and execution of a sprint finish.

"It's about a 12-second effort that you want,” he says – but clearly there’s way more to a successful day than just that. Speaking to the BBC, he has given an insight into the nature of a sprint stage right from the very start – which he says is often the hardest part as his team tries to chase down threatening breaks.

As the racing picks up late on, numbers are key. "The stronger you are as a unit, the more you can control a race. The strongest cyclist in the world isn't as strong as two guys, let alone nine."

Cavendish explains what it feels like in these closing kilometres when it’s too tense to take a hand off the bars to grab food and multiple sprint trains are jostling for position. “It's not just me against another rider; it's my team against 20 other teams. So it's 20 things to the power of 20 that can happen. There are infinite things that can happen.”

He speaks at great length about the importance of the lead-out man. At present, his at Etixx – Quick Step is Mark Renshaw, as was the case during his successful period at HTC Highroad when he notched 21 of his 25 Tour de France stage wins from 2008 to 2011.

He explains the physical qualities of Renshaw – how he has lower peak power than Cavendish, but can hold it for 30 seconds to a minute – but it is his room-mate’s judgement within the melée of the bunch which the sprinter values most highly.

"There are very few people – two, three in my career – whose judgement I would take over my own in terms of positioning and movement in the peloton. Mark is definitely one of them. He's on the highest rank. He's the most gifted person I've ever seen at moving round the peloton, at knowing where to go. I don't even have to think if I trust him.”

Cavendish says that the Australian “rides like he’s riding a tandem,” always ensuring there’s space for the man who’s following him. “If we move in the wind he stays a little bit out so I'm sheltered as well. He's always thinking for two people, which is a gift.”

Then comes the moment when it’s time to finish things off – those final 12 seconds. "The moment you accelerate is the moment you know if you've won the race.”

Once again, Cavendish reiterates that it’s not about how much power you can put out, so much as what you can do at the end of a long stage. “I wouldn't be able to sprint well at the velodrome. I don't put that amount of peak power out for that short a period of time. But when I'm in the red zone, I can put a high power out."

He says this is one of the major dangers at the finish as there are riders who think they can sprint, but who can’t maintain their speed.

“Endurance sprinting on the road is about being at your limit and then picking it up. Most guys can't do that. They think they can, but they're wrong. And they become bollards in the road. They're coming back so fast through the peloton that that's what happens.”

The key for Cavendish, it seems, is the speed at which he can pedal. He reckons he can pedal 10 per cent quicker than his rivals and says that this and the fact that he can maintain his peak power for longer is the difference. “Peak power really isn't a good measure. You might be able to do 1,800 watts, bang, but if you drop to 1,000 it won't matter.”

And is he ever happy with second place? “In a sport where there are eight on the start line, second's still something. In cycling, you might have 200 bikes on the start line, but second doesn't mean a thing.”