Wednesday 7 October 2015 17:48, UK
Shane Sutton has warned that Mark Cavendish has a “big job” on his hands to earn a place in Great Britain’s track team for Rio 2016 but is confident the Manxman’s bid to win a first Olympic medal will ultimately be successful.
Cavendish, 30, wants to ride the omnium in Brazil and last week announced he had signed a contract with road team Dimension Data that will allow him to spend time training and racing on the track in preparation.
The six-event omnium is suited to sprinters such as Cavendish, but he faces stiff competition for Britain's sole place from Ed Clancy, who won bronze in the discipline at London 2012.
Sutton, who is British Cycling's technical director, told skysports.com: "He has got a big job on his hands to win that spot. He knows that and we have talked about it. At this moment in time we have got the omnium bronze medallist and one of the fastest endurance riders in the world in Ed Clancy, so Mark has got his work cut out.
"But in the track races he has done so far since he came back [Cavendish won the Madison alongside Sir Bradley Wiggins at a Revolution Series meeting in Derby in August], he has already been very competitive and he hasn't even started putting his shine on the track side of things yet.
"I can see Mark making this a real fruitful journey for himself. His desire is to win an Olympic medal and I can see that coming to fruition."
Should Cavendish be selected for the omnium in Rio, he would automatically also have to act as a back-up rider for the team pursuit.
However, Sutton would like to see him put himself forward as a potential starter for both events.
He added: "Mark is definitely aiming for the omnium, but I also have the belief that if he turned around to Heiko [Salzwedel, British Cycling's men's endurance coach] and said, 'I want to look at team pursuit as well', I'm quite sure that he can add another string to his bow and also to ours by putting his hand up to trial for team pursuit.
"I think he has got that raw ingredient that is needed to go quick and that is something he should be considering, and let's hope he does."
Sutton describes Cavendish as a "great" of British cycling but insists that past achievements and reputation will count for nothing when it comes to selecting the Olympic team.
He said: "We will take every decision based on the evidence put before us. There is no 'Because it's Brad' or 'Because it's Mark and we like you' - it's nothing to do with that. This is an evidence-based programme."
