Mark Cavendish counts himself "amongst the luckiest people in the world" as farewell season takes next step at UAE Tour

Mark Cavendish starts the next stop on his farewell season at the UAE Tour on February 19th. After a good start to the year, including a stage win at the Tour Colombia, Cavendish is fully motivated.

"Of course, any bike rider gets confidence off any win, it doesn’t matter if it’s at the beginning of the year or later on. The sooner you get it, the earlier you know you’ve done a good winter, you’ve got good teammates around you and you’re in the mix," says the 'Manx Missile' at a pre-race press conference in the UAE. "The nature of racing, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done until you see what everyone else has done and then you can kind of see where you’re at. It’s nice to do that."

With this year marking a fifth career start at the UAE Tour, Cavendish has a strong bond with the race. "It’s nice to be here once again in Abu Dhabi for the start of the UAE Tour," the 38-year-old, Astana Qazaqstan Team sprinter smiles. "I love this race, love to be back here, it’s like a second home and I’m looking forward to getting started."

As with any conversation regarding Mark Cavendish in final season however, talk quickly turns to the Tour de France and his last chance at taking the outright stage win record with a historic 35th triumph. "I never lose motivation," he assures. "I love this sport, I love riding my bike as all of us do. It’s a difficult sport but if you get to say you do what you love as a job, then you can count yourself amongst the luckiest people in the world. To get to do it for at least another year, I’m happy."