Mark Cavendish of Britain holds his silver medal
Mark Cavendish has triumphed in 30 stages of the Tour de France, won road racing’s world title and captured dozens of other important races to become one of Britain’s most successful cyclists.
The one thing missing was an Olympic medal. The sprinter from the Isle of Man finally accomplished that feat Monday night, taking silver in the men’s omnium behind Italian rider Elia Viviani at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Cavendish leads the in the men’s cycling omnium points race at the Rio Olympic Velodrome
“I’m happy with it. I couldn’t have done more,” Cavendish said. “I made every day count. On another day I might be closer to gold, but I have to be happy.”
Especially the way things have gone in previous trips to the Olympics. Cavendish and teammate Bradley Wiggins were the reigning Madison world champions when they headed to the Beijing Games in 2008. But in the event, no longer part of the Olympic program, the duo could do no better than ninth, leaving Cavendish the only British track cyclist without a medal.
Four years ago, he headed to the London Games backed by a powerhouse road team to tackle a course that suited him perfectly — he even won a test event on it. But on race day, the British squad missed the key breakaway and Cavendish wound up 29th, reduced to being a footnote in the race report.
So in that context, silver isn’t such a bad result.
“It’s always disappointing not to win,” Cavendish said, “but I did all I could. And the guys behind me did all they could. So yeah, I’m happy.”
His performance was impressive by any measure: Not only did Cavendish nearly overcome Viviani in the last event of the six-event omnium, he also held off reigning Olympic champion Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark, who had to settle for the bronze medal. AP
Priority to Olympics
The sprinting specialist earned the yellow jersey in the Tour de France after winning the opening stage, then won three more stages to stamp his mark on the sport’s biggest race. But Cavendish said all along that one of his priorities this season was that elusive Olympic medal, so he found himself abandoning the Tour in the final week to transition to the track.
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