QuickStep-AlphaVinyl director Brian Holm has made some pretty blunt remarks about Mark Cavendish and his place in the team – being behind Fabio Jakobsen.
There has been a lot of debate and speculation about whether Cavendish should be picked for the Tour de France this year and be given a chance to collect at least one more stage win. That would put him on 35 career wins, one more than Eddy Merckx at the top of the all-time winners last.
But Holm now says Cavendish already had a chance to break the record last year, on the Champs Elysées, but he blew that chance – coming third behind stage winner Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and runner-up Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Fenix).
While many cycling fans believe QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl should bring both Jakobsen and Cavendish to the Tour – even if the British rider was only give one chance to win – Holm more or less dismissed the idea.
Advertisement
“For sure if you could choose it, but there’s always a ‘but.’ You can’t say that if Cav goes he wins a stage. Nothing is granted,” Holm told Flobikes.
Related News
“He would have made his own life a bit more easy if he had won on the Champs Élysées. He got quite a good chance last year on the Champs Élysées and he blew it. That’s life.”
Holm also said Cavendish – who took four wins on the Tour last year after an incredible comeback – knew what he was getting into when he signed for the team again this year as he knew Jakobsen was on the team as the favoured sprinter.
“It would be slightly difficult because Cav signed with QuickStep, who have got Fabio Jakobsen, and that isn’t easy for him,” Holm said. “Fabio is the future of QuickStep, and for sure Cavendish he could win and he could probably beat the record of Eddy Merckx.
“I think it’s a professional team and if they sprint three times, I think Fabio wins maybe two of them. I think most (teams) would take Fabio.”
Ultimately the decision to bring Cavendish on the Tour will not be made by Holms as team boss Patrick Lefevere will decide. While Cavendish being picked and winning again would make for an incredible story, Jakobsen has also come back from a life-threatening crash in recent seasons.
