Project Rainbow
Page 27
You can apply that to absolutely anything. For example, if I was going to ride the Étape du Tour, I would look at how far it was, the steepness and the lengths of the climbs, whether they are narrow or wide roads, and so on. First up, you would try to learn as much about the event as you could. Then you would think what kind of equipment you need, taking into account the weather, the road surfaces, etc. Next you would write down your ideals, look at how you compare with them and see what you’re lacking. Then you would look at practical things: ‘How am I going to get there? What time do I need to be there? Airports, travel … do I know anybody who lives locally? Can I hire a car?’ – simple things like that. Then you look at the day of the event: ‘What are we going to eat? What are we going to do, and when? Who do I need around me?’ Straight away there are all your challenges; if get any one of them wrong, it could throw the whole thing out of kilter.
That is simple performance planning, and you can add a performance plan to anything you do in life. As far as I’m concerned, that is the most exciting part: the pre-planning in which you take a one-off event and ask those practical questions. You’ve got to know a sport to be able to apply some of the details, but you can surround yourself with people who do know and get the information out of them in order to discover what you need to do. So when you ride the Étape du Tour, you assess the challenges: have you ever ridden that distance? Have you ever ridden up climbs of that kind? Are you fit enough to do them? You can then start to train yourself: ‘I need to build up. I’ll take a holiday and spend time riding on the climbs.’ It’s similar to setting up a business: you submit a business plan to the bank to get the start-up money.
I don’t quite know where Mark gets the belief and the desire from, but the key thing from a coaching point of view is that you have to follow the dreams of those young people. If they set their targets high, you have to go with them, because you never know where it will take you. That is the big thing that working closely with Mark has taught me. Here was a young lad who started out very overweight, who looked so far from being an athlete, who looked like some young guy who was at university and out on the pop every night, and who certainly didn’t look like a future world champion.
Let’s go back to that seventeen-year-old who wants to be a world champion. You should never just say, ‘Yeah, whatever,’ when a young athlete says something of that kind. You never truly know. And it could be any seventeen-year-old wanting to be anything in life – an actor, a journalist … You have to respect their dreams. If people want to go out and achieve something, there’s nothing to stop them.
Mark Cavendish will end up in the history books as the best sprinter cycling has ever had. You can argue about whether he’s there now, but what I do know is that there’s more to come. He has said to me that he wants to be remembered for certain things when he stops racing, which is why in spring 2013, when he won the points jersey at the Giro d’Italia, it mattered so much – it completed the triple, in the wake of the points jerseys at the Tour de France and the Vuelta. He dreams of winning Milan–San Remo in the rainbow jersey. I think he’ll win the Worlds a second time, and he could certainly win at San Remo again. He wants to smash Eddy Merckx’s record for career Tour stage wins and put it on the shelf – and that’s within his reach. I know he wants to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour. He’s hungry enough to keep going until the age of thirty-three or thirty-four if he stays free of injuries. That need to win drives him insane sometimes, but it’s part of him and it means he doesn’t seem to get tired of racing. Back in 2003, who would have thought Mark Cavendish would end up doing everything that he has done – and that he still can do?
*
Great Britain went back to the 2012 world road championship in Valkenburg, Holland, with a defending champion, Mark Cavendish, and a Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins. It wasn’t a course for Cav, with a steep hill to the finish, and Brad wasn’t in the form he had enjoyed from March to August that year. So we went with the same mindset as at Mendrisio in 2009, at the start of the Worlds project: have a goal, and build the team behind that. We knew Jonathan Tiernan-Locke was a good little climber and would have an outside chance, although he had never raced the distance before, and the lads got him in the perfect position on the final lap. Jon didn’t quite have the legs, but you couldn’t help but be encouraged to see young riders like him, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard racing with no obvious nerves in the final laps.
Cav will get his chance to win again in 2016, when the Worlds are in Qatar on another flat course. With a true champion like him all you have to do is get him – or her – to within a few kilometres of the line, and nineteen times out of twenty they will bring it home for you. The task in the meantime is to win the Worlds with riders other than Mark: both Brad and Chris Froome are capable of getting on the podium on a hilly course, but I’d like to think about other leaders for the British team as well – Geraint Thomas or Peter Kennaugh. Pete is a proper bike racer with a killer mindset like Cav’s when he’s on his terrain; 2015, when the race is in Richmond, Virginia, might suit him, as he’ll be a mature athlete by then. Great Britain have dominated the Worlds on a flat course once; if we truly want to be seen as a cycling nation, a rainbow jersey at the end of a hilly world road championship would be a fantastic way to do it.
Index
aerodynamics, 1
Aldag, Rolf, 1
Alpe d’Huez, l’, 1
Altig, Rudi, 1, 2
Ambrosia Desserts, 1, 2, 3
Anderson, Russell, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
André, Jacques, 1
anti-doping, 1
Armitstead, Lizzie, 1
Armstrong, Lance, 1
Armstrong, Mark, 1, 2
Arvesen, Kurt Asle, 1
Aubenas (France), 1
Augustyn, John-Lee, 1
Australia, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), 1, 2, 3, 4 under-23 team training camp, Varese (Italy), 1
Australian under-23 teams, 1, 2
Ballerini, Franco, 1
Banana Group, 1
Bannan, Shane, 1
Barclay, John, 1
Barker, Elinor, 1
Barker, Yanto, 1, 2
Barloworld squad, 1
Barredo, Carlos, 1
Barry, Mike, 1
Barton, Brian, 1
Baxter, Graham, 1, 2
Bayern Rundfahrt, 1
BBC, 1
Beijing, 1
Belgium, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Bellis, Jonny, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Bendigo (Australia), 1, 2, 3
Bettini, Paolo, 1, 2, 3
bike paths, 1
Blackpool, 1
Blythe, Adam, 1, 2, 3
BMC, 1, 2
BMX, 1, 2
Boardman, Chris, 1, 2, 3
Boasson Hagen, Edvald, 1
Box Hill circuit (Surrey), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Brailsford, Dave, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 at 2011 Worlds, 1
and 2012 Olympics, 1, 2
and the academy riders, 1, 2
and the academy’s move abroad, 1
agrees that RE should support Cav, 1
and RE’s Columbia offer, 1
conference-call systems, 1
explains about Lottery funding, 1
high expectations of RE, 1
likes ideas, 1
love of road cycling, 1
and Millar, 1
offers RE a job, 1
and pre-Olympic Games conference, 1
signing riders, 1
and Sky-sponsored professional team, 1
and Steve Peters, 1
tactics for 2011 Worlds, 1
on Team Sky, 1
Txema González’s death and team illness, 1
ultimate say in everything to do with Team Sky, 1, 2
and Wegelius, 1
works on Team Sky and the Olympic programme, 1
Brammeier, Matt, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
break
aways, 1, 2
Bremen, 1
British Cycling, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 academy programme, 1, 2
British culture, 1
Cav’s attitude to, 1
criticism of, 1
detailed planning, 1
doping policies, 1
foreign cyclists, 1
headquarters in Kettering, 1
helps Millar return to cycling, 1
performance plans, 1
pit stops, 1
and professionals, 1, 2, 3
putting the rider first, 1
race planning, 1
Talent Team, 1, 2
time-trial set-up, 1
British Lions, 1, 2
Buckle, Tim, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
bunch racing, 1, 2, 3, 4
bunch sprints, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Bundesliga, 1
Burke, Steven, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Burnley, 1
Burns, Lee, 1
Burrow, Jamie, 1
Burton, Abbie, 1
Cancellara, Fabian, 1, 2, 3, 4
carers, 1
Castlemaine (Australia), 1
Cavendish, Mark (Cav), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 2010 national road race, 1
2011 Worlds, 1, 2, 3
2012 Olympics, 1, 2, 3, 4
2012 Worlds, 1
academy interview, 1
accidents, 1
amateur six-day races, 1
ambitions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
becomes a father, 1
Beijing 2008, 1, 2
and Bellis’s crash, 1
character, 1, 2, 3
Commonwealth Games gold medal, 1, 2, 3
compared with Brad, 1
conflict of interest issue, 1
energy, 1
enthusiasm, 1
the fastest sprinter in the world, 1, 2
first big win (Scheldeprijs), 1, 2
floods a hotel, 1
at Ghent–Wevelgem, 1
Girvan Three-Day, 1, 2
growing fame, 1
as a leader, 1, 2, 3, 4
leg speed, 1
Madison disaster, 1
motorbike sessions, 1
moves to Italy, 1, 2, 3
nervousness, 1, 2, 3, 4
passion for winning races, 1
plans for 2011 Worlds, 1, 2, 3
points jersey in Berlin, 1
points jersey in the Giro d’Italia, 1
points jersey in the Tour (2011), 1, 2
points jersey in the Vuelta, 1, 2
pulls out of the Vuelta, 1
punishments, 1, 2
Quarrata, 1
relationship with Wiggins, 1
rides for Sparkasse, 1
skinsuit, 1, 2
sprinting style, 1
struggling on a ride near Manchester, 1
success in world championship, 1
support before the 2012 Worlds, 1
told to attend every camp, 1
Tour de France, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
training, 1
and training diary, 1
transfers to Sky, 1, 2
turning pro, 1, 2, 3
wins Madison in Los Angeles, 1, 2
wins Milan–San Remo, 1, 2, 3
wins national circuit race championship (2005), 1
works in a bank, 1, 2
ZLM Tour, Holland, 1
CC Étupes, 1
Centres of Excellence, 1
Cervélo, 1, 2
Cervélo Test Team, 1
Charity, Matthew, 1
Chartres time trial, 1
Cintrun (Majorca), 1
Cioni, Dario, 1
Cipressa climb, 1
city-centre races, 1
Clancy, Ed, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and the academy, 1, 2, 3, 4
character, 1
diet, 1
‘Go Till You Blow’ sessions, 1
gold medal in 2005 Worlds, 1
gold medal in Beijing Olympics, 1, 2
gold medal in London Olympics, 1
rides for Sparkasse, 1
turns professional, 1
Clay, Jonny, 1, 2
Clayton Velo Cycling Club (Burnley), 1
club tens, 1
Colorado, 1
Columbia (HTC from 2009), 1, 2, 3, 4
Columbia-High Road, 1
Commonwealth Bank Classic, Australia, 1
Commonwealth Games, 1, 2 2002, 1
2006, 1, 2, 3
conference-call systems, 1, 2
Cooke, Nicole, 1
Cookson, Olly, 1, 2
Costa, Diego, 1, 2, 3
Cottbus (Germany), 1
Crampton, Matt, 1, 2
Criterium International, Corsica, 1
Cronulla (Australia), 1, 2
CSC, 1, 2
Cummings, Steve, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Cwmbran Holiday Inn, 1
Cycling Weekly magazine, 1, 2
cycling proficiency, 1
Cyclists’ Touring Club: New Forest cycling week, 1
cyclo-cross, 1, 2, 3
Dailey, Doug, 1, 2, 3, 4
‘damage, the’, 1
Dauphiné Libéré, 1, 2
Dawes, Mark, 1
De Wilde, Luc, 1
Dekker, Thomas, 1
Denson, Vin, 1
development programmes juniors, 1, 2
Talent Team, 1, 2
under-1s, 2
directeurs sportifs performance plans, 1, 2
RE’s dislike of the work, 1, 2
reports by, 1
role of, 1, 2
Disney Channel, 1
Dolan bike, 1
Dombrowski, Joe, 1
doping, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Dortmund, 1
Downing, Russell, 1, 2, 3
Dowsett, Alex, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Drake, Ian, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
drinks, 1, 2, 3
drop-box system, 1
Dynatech, 1
East, Janet, 1
Edgar, Bruce, 1, 2, 3, 4
Edgar, Ross, 1
Edgbaston, 1
Edwards, Christine, 1
Eisel, Bernie, 1, 2
Ellingworth, Richard (RE’s brother), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ellingworth, Rod appointed a GB coach, 1
becomes assistant national endurance coach, 1
becomes a father, 1, 2
born in Burnley, 1
childhood, 1
coaching badge, 1
coaching style, 1
decides to look at professional cycling world, 1
education, 1
ESCA youth-training week, 1
first club ten-mile time trial, 1
first race in a circuit event, 1
‘Gifted Young People’ grant scheme, 1
influenced by Shane Sutton, 1
junior events, 1
lessons from the academy, 1
life-long love of cycling, 1
makes four-year plan to win London Olympics road race, 1, 2, 3, 4
in national junior team, 1
newsletters and emailed information for the riders, 1
offered a job at Columbia, 1
racing in Europe, 1
and Sky-sponsored professional team, 1
starts RJ Management, 1
support for Cav before the 2012 Worlds, 1
Talent Team coach, 1
tries to become a fireman, 1
working as a directeur sportif, 1, 2
English Institute of Sport (Bath), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
English Schools Cycling Association (ESCA), 1, 2, 3
Étape du Tour, 1
European championships, 1
European track championships, 1, 2, 3 Fiorenzuola 2005, 1
European under-23 track championships, 1, 2
Face Partnership, 1
Falcon, 1
Fallowfield (Manchester), 1
Farrar,
Tyler, 1
Farrell, Steve, 1
feed zones, 1
Fernández, David, 1
filtering sessions, 1
Five Valleys road race, 1
Flecha, Juan Antonio, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Flèche du Sud, Luxembourg, 1, 2
Fleeman, Dan, 1, 2
food, 1 diet, 1
hygiene, 1
Formula One, 1, 2, 3, 4
Four Days of Dunkirk, 1
Foxhills resort (Surrey), 1, 2, 3
France, 1, 2, 3
Froome, Chris, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Galibier, 1
Garmin, 1, 2, 3, 4
Garner, Lucy, 1
‘GB World Road Race Project’ (monthly newsletter), 1
Geelong (Australia), 1, 2, 3
Germany, 1
Gerrans, Simon, 1, 2
Ghent, 1
Ghent–Wevelgem, 1
Gibb, Tony, 1
‘Gifted Young People’ grant scheme, 1
Gilbert, Philippe, 1
Giro d’Italia, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Girona (Spain), 1, 2
Girvan Three-Day, south-west Scotland, 1, 2, 3
‘Go Till You Blow’ motorbike sessions, 1, 2
González, Txema, 1
Gosling Sports Park (Welwyn Garden City), 1
Goss, Matt, 1, 2, 3
Goyt Valley, 1
Graham Baxter Sporting Tours, 1
Gran Premio di Capodarco, 1, 2
Grantham (Lincolnshire), 1, 2 training camp, 1
Great Britain jerseys, 1, 2
principles, 1
qualifying for, 1
RE is appointed a GB coach, 1
and Shane Sutton, 1
team management, 1
team pursuit as the key discipline, 1
world rankings, 1, 2
Greenwood, Ben, 1, 2
Greipel, André, 1, 2, 3
Grenoble time trial, 1
Gretton, Jenny, 1
GT Ellingworth annual road race, 1