‘Manx Missile’ targets elusive Olympic medal

LONDON: It’s now or never for British cycling great Mark Cavendish in his goal to at last win an Olympic medal.

In theory, everything appears in mint condition for the 31-year-old ‘Manx Missile’ to fill the one hole in his CV as he arrives in Rio fresh from four stage wins in the Tour de France — taking his total to 30, just four shy of Eddie Mercx’s record.

However, Cavendish — who pulled out of the Tour de France early so as to preserve his strength for the Games — will have to adapt quickly as he is not competing on the road but reverts to the track, something he has not competed at in the Games since 2008.

Cavendish teams up with Wiggins in the six-discipline Omnium in Rio — the duo having won the world title this year in the Madison — and hope for a happier outcome than when they finished ninth in the 2008 Beijing Games.

“Olympic gold is one thing left - I’ve tried it twice and I was in superb form on both days and they eluded me,” said Cavendish, whose other appearance at the Games saw him squeezed out of contention here.

“I’ve made no secret that my aim is to win an Olympic medal and I’m so pleased to have been given this opportunity.

“I’m proudly patriotic and I love every time I get to pull on the Great Britain jersey and the Olympics is the biggest thing I can do. I wouldn’t have done it unless I thought I could medal in my two events,” added Cavendish, who is also a reserve for the team pursuit.

Cavendish, who won the world road race title in 2011 when the team was captained by one of his idols as a boy David Millar, fell in love with competitive cycling at an early age.

He would often compete in mountain bike races while racing an ordinary BMX. Frustrated at his failure to compete, he pestered his parents for a mountain bike to level the playing field.