"Cavendish is currently doing lots of hours in the saddle" - Astana coach confirms Mark Cavendish on the right path during Colombia camp

Mark Cavendish has resigned with the Astana Qazaqstan Team for the 2024 season and is opting with different training methods. Altitude is a very big change that the Kazakh team is implementing to help the Manxman reach his best level, as emphasized by his personal coach.

“There are lots of different ways to tackle altitude training. But you have to be careful about what you do. Cavendish is currently doing lots of hours in the saddle and only short sessions of more intensive work. For now, he seems to be responding well," coach Vasilis Anastopoulos told BiciPro. “So my proposal is I would like for Mark to do two to three altitude training camps before the Tour,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think based on the race programme, we will probably do two camps."

Currently, many of Astana's leaders are in Colombia in a training camp and will then race the Tour Colombia to test their form ahead of the spring's goals. It is an ambitious strategy for the team to have Mark Cavendish, Michael Morkov and Davide Ballerini in the mix; they will hope to get used to the new leadout and race for stage victories in the sprints. A lot of the work currently being done is on the aerobic side of the spectrum, the Manxman is likely to go to altitude still one or two more times over the upcoming months leading up to the Tour de France.

“The main reason why Mark is doing the altitude training camp in Colombia is because he wants to improve his aerobic capacity. In my opinion even a Classics specialist should do at least one altitude training camp. And if that is not possible, then one at sea level," Anastopoulos adds. "But I believe that the benefits of altitude training are greater. That is why we’ll go back to altitude again in May, in Sierra Nevada.”