Lionel Birnie and Edward Pickering
19th February 2009

A few months ago we learned that every now and again, Mark Cavendish likes to play chess to keep his mind sharp. One day we were talking about it in the office and Edward, the deputy editor, said with the sort of bullish, no-nonsense self-confidence that Cavendish would admire: “I could have him.”

Not “I reckon I could beat him” or “I'd give him a good game”. No. What Ed said was: “I. Could. Have. Him.”

It was rather like hearing Mark Cavendish talk about the races he's going to win, the only difference being that we've all seen that he has the legs to back it up. The question was, did Ed have the moves to justify his belief.

We could feel a Cycle Sport Challenge coming on, so we called Cavendish and asked if he would accept. He did, although he added the condition: “I play speed chess, so you have to make each move in ten seconds.”

This upped the ante, somewhat.

Ed's response? “I'll still have him.”

Read the full story on Cyclesport.com