Etixx - Quick-Step rider Mark Cavendish was part of the Amgen Tour of California pre-race press conference on Friday. The following quotes are some of his comments from the conference prior to the race, which starts on Sunday, March 10th.
"This is my fifth time here," Cavendish said about Tour of California. "I like it here in this state. I remember when it was in February and we were racing in rain and snow, and then they moved it to May. There were always the same people out watching and the races just got bigger and bigger. It's a big race for a lot of the riders and sponsors. It's a great market out here in California and you can see how cycling has grown and the passion for the sport has grown over the years as well. It's great to be back. We have a strong team with Etixx - Quick-Step. We've got a team that can win stages. It might be difficult to go for the overall, but we have a team built to do well in the sprint stages. For other stages we'll also be looking to capitalize and get a good result for Etixx - Quick-Step."
"It's a nice big wide kind of boulevard finish," Cavendish said about the finish in Sacramento. "It's a fast sprint. You've got a kilometer to wind up until the finish so you'll always have a real sense of who's in good position and who's good in that final sprint. You kind of have to get everything right in that last circuit. Hopefully we'll do that. It's a nice finish with lots of people watching as well. I won in Sacramento before (2010 & 2014) and I will try to do well again there on Sunday. One thing that Amgen Tour of California has always done right is the finishing circuits. The spectators get to see the cyclists a few times before the finish and I think that is a great way to promote the sport to the fans."
"It's not about the route where a breakaway can stay away," Cavendish said about escape groups preventing group arrivals. "It's a lot more about how the teams behind them ride. I think with a lot of the races it's been up to our team to chase the breakaway down on a flat stage. But Etixx - Quick-Step will do their best to pull the breakaway back for the sprints, as we always do, and try to win some stages."