Team Columbia-Highroad hit the headlines across Europe big-time following Mark Cavendish’s spectacular victory at the hundredth edition of Milan-San Remo.

Cavendish’s breathtaking high-speed sprint to beat Heinrich Haussler and his determination to win one of the cycling’s monuments at the very first attempt, earned him praise from everyone, including many of his rivals.

In France, top sports journal L’Equipe’s leading cycling writer Philippe Brunel praised Cavendish for his meticulous study of the route in the build-up to the event.

“He rode over the Poggio twice, and then watched a DVD of the history of the race. Now Cavendish has his place in that history,” Brunel wrote.

“Cavendish’s victory represents the birth of a champion, a new star.”

In the United Kingdom, The Observer newspaper called Cavendish’s “final sprint... his most impressive yet; more impressive, even, than in any of his four stage wins during last year's Tour de France.”
The Sunday Telegraph said it was “possibly the greatest win of his already impressive career.”


 In Italy, where Milan-San Remo is one of the biggest sporting events of the spring, every newspaper and television news programme reported on Cavendish’s victory.

The pink Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper sells more than half a million copies and is read in cafes and bars across Italy. It splashed a huge headline across two pages: ‘Cavendish al primo colpo’ – ‘Cavendish at the first attempt.’

The prestigious Corriere della Sera newspaper talked about Cavendish’s extraordinary talent and the way he pounced on Haussler in the final metres of the race. Every paper used Cavendish’s nickname of Cannonball as a metaphor for his amazing winning sprint.

Many newspapers considered Cavendish’s victory in the hundredth edition of Milan-San Remo as the start of a new era for cycling.

The ‘La Repubblica’ newspaper has also taken a strong stance against doping. It pointed out that Cavendish was the first rider to sign the UCI’s anti-doping charter and that Team Columbia-Highroad have an independent anti-doping programme run by Don Catlin and the Anti-Doping Sciences Institute.

Grazie George

Many of the specialist sports newspapers in Italy noticed how Cavendish’s success was a well-prepared team effort.

They saw how Bernhard Eisel and Thomas Lovkvist sacrificed their own chances to help Cavendish win, and praised George Hincapie for guiding Cavendish on the climbs, looking out for him on the descent of the Poggio and then perfectly setting up the sprint.

In the post-race press conference, Cavendish thanked all his team mates and the Team Columbia-Highroad management. The press reported how Team Columbia-Highroad had meticulously prepared for the race and how sprint consultant Erik Zabel had taught Cavendish the secrets of his four victories at Milan-San Remo.

In an editorial on the front page of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Pier Bergonzi perhaps best described the meaning of Cavendish’s victory. He called it ‘The dawn of a new champion.’

“With a jump, a lunge to the line and an 11 centimetre winning margin, one of the most promising sprinters in cycling completed his metamorphosis. Mark Cavendish has joined the club of champions.”