Mark Cavendish claims he was mismanaged and his physical problems and mental health issues were undertreated, adding it ruined all of the physical ability he tried to build back up after his career setbacks.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, the Manx rider also explained before he suffered mental health issues he had underestimated the problem, but now fully understands what people go through.
He also said he was not focused on breaking the all-time Tour de France stage win record having last year drawn equal with Eddy Merckx as both have 34 stage wins in the French race. Instead wanted to keep racing and take as many wins as he could in the time remaining in his career.
The 36-year-old spent three seasons without a win after his issues – which included Epstein Barr virus and depression – during which time he rode for Dimension Data and then went to Bahrain McLaren for 2020, where the first signs he was getting stronger began to emerge.
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Last year he joined Deceuninck-QuickStep on a one-year deal and came back into top
form, winning four stages in the Tour and the green jersey. However, the
memories of his winless period are clearly still in his thoughts.
“I
went from being the best in the world to one of the worst overnight. I was
misdiagnosed and mismanaged by people I trusted in an old team and it pretty
much wiped out everything physically that I had worked for, and along with that
came mental health issues,” he said.
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“Before,
I was someone who didn't really believe that mental health problems were a
thing. The irony that I suffered was such a good thing, because it meant I
could personally talk about the fact that it is real.
“As
an athlete, I can cry about my hard times, but that's what a comeback does,
when you've had hard times. I'm fortunate to have been able to come back like
this. A lot of people are in a position where they are still struggling. All I
can say is don't give up.”
He
added his family had been a huge support to him and were the most important
thing in his life, describing mental health issues as “a disease”.
“It's something you can't control. In every interview I
do, I talk about my problems because if a person can get something out of it,
then it's worth it. I will talk about it because I know how damaging it can be.
Not only for your life but also for other people around you.
“The hardest thing for me when I was really depressed was
to talk about it. Even if you have a lot of people around you who love you, you
can't explain how you feel. Mental illness changes you for life, you never
really get over it, you learn to live with it. The presence of sports
psychologists within teams for top athletes is important. Unfortunately, in
society, relying on a specialist is still a luxury that isn't available for
everyone.”
He said he was currently focused on UAE Tour, where he is racing at present and where he claimed stage 2 on Monday, adding he did not know if he was going to the Tour de France this year. Cavendish told Marca the only people who ever asked him about breaking Merckx’s record were journalists.
