Mark Cavendish: "I had a fire in my eyes the entire day"

Mark Cavendish won the British National Road Championship for the second time, racing to victory after being part of the day's early breakaway. It was a battle between Cavendish, Alex Richardson, Sam Watson and Ben Turner, and the Manxman managed to secure the win.

“I am incredibly happy. To win my second National Champion jersey, nine years after the first one and again in Scotland is amazing," he said in a post-race interview. "The race was hard and full of gas from the very beginning. I joined the break, then as soon as we got reeled in, I jumped again and did my best there, not sparing any effort.

Sure enough Cavendish managed to get himself in the winning move, with INEOS Grenadiers not chasing due to Turner's presence in the front, and the difficulty to put on an organized chase in the rugged Scottish terrain. He countered the moves of his rivals in the final kilometers and had the legs to keep things compact into the sprint, where he was not matched by Watson and Richardson.

"I had a fire in my eyes the entire day and in the sprint I let my legs to do the talking. I am extremely happy with this victory and I can’t wait to wear with huge pride this jersey in the next twelve months," the veteran concluded.