Jens Voigt exclusive: Mark Cavendish must win two stages at Giro d’Italia to earn spot at 2023 Tour de France

Former cyclist Jens Voigt told Eurosport that he believes Mark Cavendish needs two stage wins at the Giro d’Italia to convince his team to give him a spot in their Tour de France squad.

The 37-year-old Manxman is one of the greatest sprinters in the history of cycling, and in 2021 equalled the record at the Tour de France for most stages won, bringing his record up to 34.

However, he is yet to win a stage for his new team, and that might hinder his chances of going to the Grand Tour this year.

A chance to impress will soon be upon him though, as he is one of the sprinters picked for his team’s tilt at the Giro d’Italia, and Voigt believes a strong showing might convince the team chiefs to take him to a second of the season’s toughest tours.

Cavendish has 16 stage wins to his name at the Giro, and Voigt, a two-time Tour de France stage winner, praised the Briton.

He said: “I love him to pieces. Cav needs to win two stages in a really convincing style with a really convincing style to make Astana believe in him to go to the Tour de France, which starts in the Basque country with three tough stages until the first sprint so you have to survive that first to be able to sprint.”

Voigt thinks that more competition is what Cavendish needs, rather than to take it easy.

“At a certain age, the body needs more intense races,” he explained. “The older you get, the more you turn from a GTI engine into a diesel engine. You can ride forever but you can’t go fast any more. You can ride at 23mph, London to Paris with no worries.

“But, London to Chelsea at 60kmph, you go, ‘Argh, I can’t do it.’

“You need high, hard, intense fitness to get you through and to get your older body ready again. I speak from experience about this.”

Reflecting on a successful but eventful career so far for Cavendish, Voigt added: “I wish nothing more than for Cav to go to the Tour. He has done it so many times and so many miracle comebacks, Epstein-Barr virus, terrible crashes, broken bones, coming back and kicking ass, I wish he can do it one last time.

“But every fairy tale and miracle has to end somehow. He needs to win two stages by a bike length and convincing for Astana to be like, he’s ready, we take him to the Tour.”

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