"Of course, I always think about the Tour de France" - Mark Cavendish begins 2024 season in Colombia with one eye already on his summer goals

Sprint legend Mark Cavendish will begin his final professional season later today at the Tour Colombia. As he admits though, the focus is already on this summer where he makes one last attempt to take sole ownership of the Tour de France stage win record.

"I can't believe it after so many years, but it's my first time in Colombia. I want to stay," the Astana Qazaqstan Team leader said at the pre-race press conference attended by Cycling News among others. "We spent a week in Medellin, which was incredible, and then we came up here to Paipa. The only problem was I couldn't breathe for two weeks. But now I understand why the riders from Colombia just play with us when they come down to sea level."

Now aged 38, Cavendish initially announced his plan to retire at the end of 2023 before a crash at the Tour de France ensured he would take on one final season. With stage 1 of 2024 Tour Colombia likely to end in a bunch sprint, there could be early reason to celebrate for the 'Manx Missile'.

"With regards to the sprints, I don't know," Cavendish said. "We've got a very strong team, and I know Fernando Gaviria has a strong team with Movistar too. But like we've seen with the road championships in Colombia, there are a lot of domestically based riders who can spring a surprise. We'll just enjoy it and see how it goes."

As repeatedly mentioned though, it's almost impossible to talk about Mark Cavendish's final season without attention turning to the Tour de France, where the 34-time stage winner attempts to edge in front of the great Eddy Merckx with a record-breaking 35th victory.

"Of course, I always think about the Tour de France. I've always thought about the Tour de France in my whole career. But that doesn't mean you take the rest of the races easy, you know," he says. "As a sprinter, especially, you're marked on your wins. Second, third, fourth or fifth doesn't matter, you're rated by your wins, so it's always important to win throughout. And both on a physical and mental point, the motivation you get from victories early in the year can carry you through to July."