Mark Cavendish: I never lose motivation, I love this sport

When Mark Cavendish and Astana Qazaqstan announced they would spend a few weeks in Colombia to start the 2024 season, eyebrows were raised.

But as Cavendish appeared at the UAE Tour's pre-race press conference, any doubts over his plans had been answered, with the Manxman coming away from the Tour Colombia with his earliest season victory in nine years and buoyed by the confidence it has given him.

"Of course, any bike rider gets confidence off any win, it doesn’t matter if it’s at the beginning of the year or later on. The sooner you get it, the earlier you know you’ve done a good winter, you’ve got good teammates around you and you’re in the mix," Cavendish said to the assembled media in the UAE.

After spending a couple of weeks training at altitude in South America, the 38-year-old began the revived Tour Colombia race unsure whether he would be able to compete for victories against the more acclimatised local riders, such as Fernando Gaviria (Movistar).

Although Gaviria did indeed take the first spoils as the pair went head-to-head on stage 1, Cavendish responded in fine fashion on stage 4 to open his win tally for the new season. In doing so, the veteran sprinter laid down a marker for 2024 and spoke only of excitement at continuing his fledgling campaign in the United Arab Emirates.

"The nature of racing, [it] doesn’t matter what you’ve done until you see what everyone else has done and then you can kind of see where you’re at. It’s nice to do that," he said, in reference to Colombia, "and it’s nice to be here once again in Abu Dhabi for the start of the UAE Tour.

"I love this race, love to be back here, it’s like a second home and I’m looking forward to getting started."

Lining up at the UAE Tour press conference among fellow top sprinters Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Dylan Groenewegan (Jayco AlUla), the excitement was palpable not only for the riders, but also for those in attendance at Colnago's flagship store in the region.

Among those gathered to hear the thoughts of the riders were members of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and the applause that greeted Cavendish's introduction is noticeably the loudest of the afternoon.

Read more: 'Knowing I was valued is biggest factor in not retiring' says Mark Cavendish

Almost 16 years on from his first Tour de France stage win, Cavendish is now one of the sport's greats and firmly established as the best sprinter of all time.

But despite having originally planned to retire at the end of 2023 - before the reversal of his decision - Cavendish would not hear any talk of his motivation waning as he enters an unexpected further season in the pack.

"I never lose motivation," he assures. "I love this sport, I love riding my bike as all of us do. It’s a difficult sport but if you get to say you do what you love as a job, then you can count yourself amongst the luckiest people in the world.

"To get to do it for at least another year, I’m happy."

The first opportunity for the sprinters in this year's UAE Tour will come on Monday on stage 1, but the wind has been ever-present for the last few days and there is talk within the peloton of the chance for crosswinds to tear the race apart.

Should the lumpy course or echelons prevent the British sprinter from showing himself in the opening stage, Cavendish and his fellow fast men should be all but guaranteed bunch finishes on stages 4, 5 and 6.

Read more: UAE Tour: ‘I don’t remember such a competitive sprint field’ says Sam Bennett

For all the important information about the 2024 UAE Tour, be sure to check out our dedicated race hub for our full preview, the race start list and much more.