Mark Kevendiš u najboljoj formi za Svetsko prvenstvo

Velika Britanija šalje u Kopenhagen svoj najbolji tim ikada a ključni momenat ove nedelje je to što će njihova muška elita biti u punoj snazi. Njihov lider, Mark Kevendiš, ima šansu da postane prvi Britanac ,posle Toma Simpsona 1965.godine, kome može pripasti najveća čast u drumskom biciklizmu. Kevendiš je nakon završetka Tour of Britain, u nedelju, rekao ''u najboljoj sam formi ikada''.

''Uveren sam da imam najači tim kom sam mogao samo da se nadam tako da ne postoji ništa više što bih mogao da uradim, ni oko čega nisam zabrinut'', rekao je Kevendiš koji je osvojio zelenu majicu na Tour de France-u po prvi put ove godine. ''Najveća stvar sa kojom bi trebalo da se sučimo su najverovatnije padovi. Postoje vozači  koji  verovatno neće biti u istoj formi kao ja, na primer Tajler Farar, pa morate da brinete da oni ne padnu''.

Kevendiš je rešen da ga ne ometa činjenica što je ovo možda jedina prilika u njegovoj karijeri da je Svetsko prvenstvo na trasi koja odgovara njegovom sprinterskom talentu. ''Ne možete da im dozvolite da se igraju s vašim umom. Morate to da posmatrate kao nešto pozitivno. Umesto da kažem da je to jedina šansa koju imam reći ću da je to najbolja prilika koju sam imao''.

Manxman takođe smatra da povlačenje sa Vuelte, u prvoj nedelji, zbog kombinacije vrućine i stomačnih tegoba, može da bude ''sreća u nesreći''.

''To me je sprečilo da preteram kao prošle godine. Bilo je previše teško i bilo je padova. Vidite Farara koji je zbrisao sve za jedan dan, momke sa slomljenim rukama, a bilo je i Bunenovih padova.

Tour of Britain je bila savršena priprema. Posle Vuelte sam bio u stanju da treniram koliko sam želeo, da kontrolišem treninge, onda sam došao na Tour of Britain i bilo je nekoliko surovih brda koja su mi izoštrila formu''.

Great Britain are sending their strongest-ever team in Copenhagenthe but key development this week is that there will be a Great Britain team at full strength in the elite men's race on Sunday. Their leader, Mark Cavendish, has a chance of becoming the first Briton since Tom Simpson in 1965 to land road cycling's highest honour. Cavendish said after finishing the Tour of Britain on Sunday that "my form is the best it's ever been"."I'm confident, I've got the strongest team I can possibly hope for so there is nothing more I can do now, nothing I can be worried about," said Cavendish, who won the green jersey at the Tour de France for the first time this year. "The biggest thing to contend with is probably a crash. There are some riders who probably won't be in the same form that I'm in – Tyler Farrar for instance – so you've got to be worried they don't wipe out."

Cavendish is determined not to be distracted by the fact that this may be the only occasion in his career when the world championship is on a course that suits his sprint talent. "You can't let that play on your mind. You've got to take it as a positive. Instead of saying it's the only chance I've got, I'm saying it's the best opportunity I've had."

The Manxman also felt that pulling out of the Vuelta a España in the first week due to a combination of heat and stomach trouble may have been "a blessing in disguise".

"It stopped me overdoing it like last year. It's too hard and there were crashes, you see Farrar wipe everyone out on one day, guys with broken hands, and there was [Tom] Boonen's crash as well.

"The Tour of Britain was perfect preparation. After the Vuelta I was able to train as I wanted, control the training, then I came to the British Tour, and there were some savage hills to sharpen up my form."

There were other omens from the British Tour: as well as winning two sprints and coming second in a third, Cavendish put in a strong time trial on Sunday morning in London. Steve Cummings and Geraint Thomas, two of his support riders at the weekend, rode strongly all week.

(BiciSvet.com/izvor:guardian.co.uk/Dragana Petrović)