In just over a week the 111th edition of the Tour de France will begin which, among the many reasons of interest, will also have the pursuit of the all-time record for stage victories by Mark Cavendish, who, at the moment, holds it jointly with his majesty Eddy Merckx. Davide Ballerini will be one of the most important men on whom the English champion will rely in the sprintsAmong other things, Cavendish was recently appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles III, earning the title of Sir.
We reached the Cantù rider on the phone during his last days of training camp in Livigno, to let us know how the approach to such an important event for him went and for all theAstana Qazaqstan Team (opening the last day at altitude, as told on Instagram).
Davide, first of all: how did your Giro d'Italia go?
The Giro has gone reasonably well, especially considering the injury I had at the beginning of the yearThen I almost immediately went up to altitude, descending for the Italian Championship on Sunday.
And immediately after the Tour will start, where you will be a key man in the Astana Qazaqstan Team train.
Yes, I should be Cavendish's second-to-last man in the sprints, just before he goes into action MorkovI haven't seen Mark for a while, since the Tour of Türkiye, but from what I know he seems to be in good shape. He recently finished the Tour de Suisse And I know he's had a good workout. When we meet, we'll have a chance to talk. I'll do my best to help him achieve his winning record.
In this regard, how is this record perceived within the team? Is it truly a fundamental goal for everyone?
I would say yes. It has been talked about since the beginning of the year as one of our main objectives for the seasonIt's something we feel very strongly about, and we'll try to bring it home, even though it obviously won't be easy; there are many very well-equipped teams. We'll do our best. We haven't talked about the stages yet, but when we meet we'll study them together.We will try to understand which one might be the most suitable for him, even if there will certainly be several. It will also be very important let's see how the first two days go, which are not easy at all, but we will take advantage of every opportunity.
Let's get back to you. Besides supporting Cavendish, do you think you'll have the chance to try it out yourself at some of the stages?
I hope I can carve out some freedom, certainly, because I'm training a lot, I'm doing everything rightI'm fit enough, we'll see as soon as I get down from the hill, but I know that working here always brings something good. I'll try to get a result in some stages, even if I haven't focused on one in particular yet. In any case, the important thing will be to be ready and seize the right moment, although, as always at the Tour, it won't be easy.
Last question. Can you tell us what specific training you've been doing during this time at altitude?
Here in Livigno I trained theIn particular on explosiveness, because at the Giro I noticed that I often lacked a bit of brilliance in the final stages. So I worked a lot on the peaks after 4 hours. In addition to that, in view of the hardest stages of the Tour I also did a lot of distance, reaching 6-hour workouts with 4-5.000 meters of elevation gain. So yeah, I'd say I feel ready.
