'Perfect' lead-out for Mark Cavendish leaves Astana satisfied at UAE Tour

Mark Renshaw delivers his immediate assessment, as pre-race telling-off works wonders but Cavendish sprints too early to benefit

14:42, Friday 23rd February 2024

George Poole

Junior Writer

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Learning experience is beginning to pay off for Mark Cavendish's team

Astana Qazaqstan sports director Mark Renshaw has revealed that a pre-race pep talk with his squad paid off during stage 5 of the UAE Tour. After failing to feature prominently in the previous two sprint stages, the team in light blue put on a demonstration in the closing kilometres of Friday's stage and delivered Mark Cavendish to the front in style.

Unfortunately for the team and for Cavendish, the situation in the sprint forced the Brit to show his hand too early, with the 38-year-old looking good with a couple of hundred metres to go but fading to 17th place in the end.

"This morning, I had a really hard meeting with the guys, because we have to be realistic. We did not do anything that we wanted to yesterday; we didn't do the tactic that we implemented, and today, [it was] chalk and cheese compared to yesterday," Renshaw told GCN and a small group of journalists after the finish.

Earlier in the week, Cavendish himself had admitted there were improvements to be made in Astana Qazaqstan's lead-out, and at the third time of asking, his unit stepped up.

"We had [Gleb] Syritsa do an awesome job, [Michele] Gazzoli and also Dmitriy Gruzdev and unfortunately, Cav didn't have it to go all the way to the line," said Renshaw. "He had to hit out quite early, but he is really happy and I'm really happy."

Cavendish appeared somewhat disappointed after the finish, as he took a seat in the back of a team car to end his day, but such feelings are only natural for a rider with a winner's mentality. In truth, the Manxman will be satisfied with his team's efforts and motivated to return for more tomorrow.

After Monday's opening stage, Cavendish had told GCN that his team were "over-eager" in the final kilometres, before a late crash sounded a death knell for his chances of opening his legs in the sprint. Equally, a chaotic conclusion to stage 4 saw the Astana Qazaqstan leader once more reduced to coasting over the line some seconds after the stage winner.

This was all change come stage 5.

Following the efforts of Syritsa, Gazzoli and Gruzdev, the roadside fans in Umm Al Quwain were treated to the vintage sight of Michael Mørkøv entering the final 400m with Cavendish on his wheel, and crucially, at the front of the bike race.

With a little over 300m to go, Alpecin-Deceuninck's Kaden Groves launched his sprint on the left-hand side of Mørkøv and Cavendish, forcing the Brit to round his Danish teammate and hit the wind himself.

Things looked good for Cavendish at first as he went neck and neck with Groves, but he soon began to rock and roll and with 100m to ride, the British sprinter sat up, accepting that he would not be contending for the win on this occasion.

In the end, it was a tale of too much, too soon for the man roundly regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time.

Nasty headwind delivers hammer blow to Cavendish

Whilst Astana Qazaqstan produced a well-drilled lead-out to allow Mørkøv and Cavendish to roll back the years in the finale, Groves' acceleration prompted the latter into an unfortunate position.

By opening up his sprint with over 200m to go, Cavendish was pitted against the forces of nature.

"It's tricky, we had about a 20km/h head-cross/tail-cross [wind], it was [a] swinging crosswind. So with those conditions, the wide road and an easy stage, it's really tricky to read the perfect moment," said Renshaw.

It is noticeable that not only did Cavendish begin to falter in the final 100m, but also Groves, who himself sat up before the line and accepted his fate in ninth.

Speaking exclusively with GCN beyond the finish line, Bora-Hansgrohe's Sam Welsford offered an insight into the difficulties of the headwind.

"It was pretty close on the line and my legs were giving way, I had to go quite early. It's so tricky with the wind and how fast the pace is," Welsford said. "I just tried to put my head down and go as far as I could and unfortunately [it was] a little bit too early."

Feeling more like himself with each passing day after a crash in training last Saturday, Welsford is trending in the right direction and managed to hold on for third place behind Kooij and Merlier.

As for Cavendish and his DS Renshaw, the Brit may have been denied by a nuisance headwind, but Friday's stage will deliver them a huge confidence boost ahead of the final opportunity for the sprinters on Saturday.

"I think Cav had [the] absolute perfect position and the team did it exceptionally well," said Renshaw.

"Seeing Mørkøv deliver Cav inside the final 250m/300m, it gives us a big positive for the day."

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 startlist and much more.