Mark Cavendish, perhaps the emblem of the sprinter, is working at altitude in Colombia. Other sprinting colleagues, however, don't want to hear about altitude training camps. One in particular? Mads pedersenBut after many years of experience and with the return of his coach, Vasilis Anastopoulos landed this winter atAstana QazaqstanCav has found new certainties. So let's try to understand how he's working.
Cavendish will start his season in South America. After that he will go to UAE Tour and then will face the Tirreno. Three stage races before Milan-Sanremo, the first red-flagged event of the season. But his big goal is another… The Englishman wants to be at his best in July when the Grande Boucle takes place.
Knight in Colombia
The pursuit of the fateful all-time record of victories at Tour that's the crux of the matter. Cavendish also wants to break away from Merckx. And he's one of the few to have succeeded! Jokes aside, the former world champion is with several teammates in Colombia. Many of them will share a good portion of the racing season with him. We are also working on the train's affinities and of the group that will have to escort Mark.
"Cavendish," Anastopoulos explains, "will begin his season with the tour in Colombia, and this should be seen as part of his initial preparation. His condition is okay for now. So far we have worked mainly on cycling hours and less on sprints».
Cavendish's program is substantial. He will be in Colombia for three weeks: two of training and one of competition. Therefore, his approach to the seasonal debut, especially since he will be at altitude, is well calibrated. Anastopoulos doesn't want to make any mistakes and knows these dynamics well.
More hours than intensity
In fact, many coaches have told us over the years that performing maximum work at altitude is difficult, if not counterproductive. Cav's work should be taken with a pinch of salt.
One might therefore ask oneself How will Cavendish manage to come out stronger than he arrived at the 2.125 meters of Rionegro, near MedellinUltimately, a sprinter is required to make certain maximum efforts to improve. At least that's what one might think.
But Anastopoulos has clear ideas: «The main reason Mark is doing the altitude training camp in Colombia is because he wants to improve his aerobic capacity. It combines some long rides with some anaerobic work, in this case we are talking about efforts of short duration." The Greek coach therefore apparently does not affect the anaerobic metabolic part.
So, sprints and maximum workouts are welcome, but in moderation. And Anastopoulos also reports that, aside from a few specific bodyweight sessions, Cav won't be lifting weights in the gym during this South American training camp.
Maximum attention
The topic of “high altitude and intense work” remains A matter of debate. This is demonstrated by the different choices made by some sprinters, but also by classics hunters.
We have seen for example that Battistella This year, he'll focus solely on one-day races and short stage races (no Grand Tours), and he'll head to high altitude, while many Belgian classics riders won't. Pogacar himself said he'll avoid high altitude before the Giro to be more effective in the Ardennes. And we still remember Consonni and Rota's experience after the high altitude race, in Colombia, last year. The two worked hard. On the way back, they were flying at first, but then they paid the price. And they themselves told us about certain difficulties.
«There are many ways to tackle the heights – explains Anastopoulos – but you always have to be careful what you do. As mentioned, Cavendish is doing mostly hours in the saddle and only short explosive sessions and so far he seems to be responding well.
«For me, even if you are a specialist in the classics, doing at least one training camp at altitude is necessary. If this is not possible, you can camp at sea level, but I truly believe that the benefits of going higher are greater. This is also why Mark will return to altitude in May. We're going to Sierra Nevada."
