Vinokourov reveals the Tour de France is not the be-all and end-all for Mark Cavendish: "We can't just put everything on the Tour, it'd be too risky"
Cycling
For many, the Tour de France is synonymous with the career of Mark Cavendish although with him now within touching distance of Eddy Merckx's stage win record, Astana manager Alexander Vinokourov is trying to play down the race's importance.
"We can't just put everything on the Tour, it'd be too risky," Vinokourov says in an interview with Cycling News. "The more victories we get, the better, and if we get there in the Tour this year as well, then – chapeau. But victories in the bag are victories in the bag."
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After a disappointing opening to his career at the Astana Qazaqstan Team in the Tour of Oman, Cavendish and Vinokourov are experienced enough to realise that just as Rome wasn't built in a day, connections between sprint trains aren't formed in just one race.
"The important thing, for now, is to get him integrated and feeling happy, because sometimes when you join a new team it's tough. If the atmosphere in a team is good, then for sure you'll always do your best," Vinokourov explains. "We're not going to be going in there like QuickStep, that's for sure, but hopefully, Mark will be able to do some nice sprints. But for now, it's more about getting him fully integrated into the team."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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