Mark Cavendish said he is confident of winning again in 2022, despite a crash at Ghent Six that left him with broken ribs and a punctured lung and significantly delayed his winter training.

The 36-year-old Manxman has signed a new contract with Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl and is eager to continue the success of 2021, when he won four stages at the Tour de France, took the green points jersey, and tied Eddy Merckx's record for stage wins. He overcame the Epstein-Barr virus, depression, and poor form prior to joining Quick-Step to show speed and ambition in the sprint finish.

Cavendish is currently limited to short indoor rides due to injuries from crashes, but is upbeat about 2022 and still loves cycling.

"Obviously I'm not in ideal shape, but I still think I can win next year," he told The Big Issue (opens in new tab) in a long interview about the crash, his depression, and his return to success.

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"I don't know what will hit me, but I'm confident. Otherwise, I might have just quit. But I'm still on the upswing. I still love it."

Cavendish admitted that his return to success has been extraordinary: a year ago, he was in a completely different position, "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it again.

"All I wanted was to be able to run for this team. I wasn't performing," he recalled, also explaining why.

"From my point of view, I didn't perform properly. I had too many excuses. The bike wasn't right for me. I didn't fit with the team - that's part of me, but still excuses. If I can come to this team and get rid of those excuses, then it's up to me. And I knew that if I did what I could do, I would succeed."

"I was surprised [by the win]. But there was no disbelief. But there was no disbelief. Still, the emotion was there because nothing like this had happened in a long time."

Cavendish suffered in silence while trying to recover from the Epstein-Barr virus and during a tense final year at Dimension Data, where he was not selected for the Tour de France.

It was only later that he revealed that he had struggled with depression, admitting that he did not understand the impact of his mental problems. Now he is ready to talk openly about it, hoping to help others.

"You want to know the biggest reason I talk about it? because five years ago, I was someone who didn't take it seriously," Cavendish told The Big Issue, which has always worked to help people with mental health issues.

"I thought it was an excuse. Now I am grateful to have a forum where I can speak personally. For me, talking to other people who are suffering was the best way to deal with it. Because a lot of people don't understand it. So the more people talk about it, the bigger that network grows,

"It's very strange, because it's like, 'Oh my God, I don't understand it, I don't understand it, I don't understand it, I don't understand it.' You can't paint a picture of what a mental health problem is. It manifests itself differently in different people. And ultimately, denying the idea that it is a serious illness not only doesn't help people, it is harmful. It is a great loss.

"I think especially in the last few years, many people have lost everything, suffered mentally, and developed mental health symptoms. We have to take it seriously and talk about it."

Cavendish regrets not showing more empathy to people in the past. He now understands that people may be suffering in silence and need support.

"I think Robin Williams said it best: people don't pretend to have mental problems, they pretend to be okay. I am grateful for the support I have from my current team.

"I'm in a warped world. It's a professional sport, and cycling is a pretty old-fashioned sport. I'm behind other sports in that respect. But I have to say that I had the support I needed.

"Ironically, when you're suffering, you don't look for help. In my experience, when you're sick, if you don't have help, you think no one is going to help you. But I don't ask anyone. That's how it goes over my head. It doesn't make logical sense, but I don't think logically."