Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Really looking forward to Saturday. Hoping that Cav can get the five he's setting out for but boy are the team going to have to work to achieve that. With major mountain stages and the "accidentee" stages this is a tough tour. Even some of the "flat" stages are not conducive to a mass sprint.
Good luck to all of them and "Chapeau" to all who finish the toughest event in world sport in Paris.

I can't wait for the tour to start, and this time I really think that he can get the green jersey. Come on Cav!

Come on Cav, get over to Sky for 2012. Let us dream..........

"arguably the world's best sprinter"?
I would say undoubtedly the world's best sprinter at the moment - and arguably one of the best sprinters there has ever been in cycling.

Cav is a magnificent cyclist and head and shoulders above the other sprinters.He has a great team based around him and I hope he stays at HTC.

Interesting changes made to the green jersey competition this year,following on form Preudhomme's comments that it is an anomaly that a sprinter winning 5/6 stages shouldn't wear the maillot vert on the Champs Elysee.This is a good chance for him,although the first week may be better suited to someone like Phillippe Gilbert.

Cav,I wish you all the best for the Tour this year.

Ha, I still don't understand why there are those who doubt his sincerity. Suggesting that the tears he cries and the thanks that he delivers his team in post-stage interviews are fake........try riding a few 100km each day at that pace and see if you can stagger off your bike at the end and even make it to a camera to try and speak.

He is such a hero though, great that he sounds like he still has the hunger too!!! At some points in the previous two Tour de Frances when the cynical jibes landed at his feet I wondered if, admittedly volatile personality he is that, he might try something different. But HTC are great for him, and he too for them; I agree with markholds, right now, out-and-out sprinter, not someone who might be slower in speed but handles the mountains better, Cav is far far far beyond his peers.

Hope the preps are good, you and your teammates go get them matey, I'll never doubt you Mark.

Cavendish gets a lot of stick from people outside of cycling who don't know, or want to know, how the dynamic of a cycling team works.

I think he's a much misunderstood character, and I'll be cheering him on for the next three weeks.

Come on Cav!!

Thanks for the blog - great insights in to his personality, and the importance of the team to him. I'd love to see Cav in green at the end of the tour. Disagree with #5 though. I think they have made it hard for Cav this year - there are a lot of uphill finishes or hills before flat finishes to tire him out. It looks made for Hushovd who likes those kinds of things. Cav is going to have to work really hard on the intermediate bits and scrap for every point - not something he has had to do before.

I also doubt that he'll come to Sky. They have to many irons in the fire, so to speak. HTC works for Cav because he is the main man. Can't see Cav in the same team as Wiggins and Bossan Hagen as the team will have to many different objectives. Having said that, Sky are likely to be the team taking the Olympics most seriously, but expecting Gold from Cav one week after the Tour de France might be too much. I suspect that it is TDF or Olympics if you genuinely want to win a major jersey/medal.

An unattributed quote from twitter to illustrate the (incorrect) perception the Cav isn't a team player? What is this, the Metro? For me, what is blindingly apparent is that Cav is a man who deeply loves his sport, always credits his teammates, he even personally paid for first class upgrades for Jez Hunt and David Millar for the flight to Australia for last years World Championships. Mark is a rarity, a beautifully outspoken winning machine from Britain, it's almost like the public at large have to respond negatively because he doesn't conform to the plucky loser stereotype. Oh, and "Eddy Merckx, a Belgian considered by many the greatest cyclist in history"? Come on, the cannibal's record speaks for itself, he is the GOAT when it comes to cycling.

And Cav won't go to Sky without Renshaw or Eisel at least.

Great blog Ollie! I have only been really interested in road cycling for just over a year now so I got caught on the Cav bug when he did so well in the Tour last year. The first thing I learnt that he WAS a team player because after each win he made a point of thanking his team mates first. Okay Cavendish may eventually beat Eddy Merckx's stage wins record but however much I like I don't think he will ever be considered a better rider than Merckx just because he did win literally every race in the world over and over again. For me it is great that British cycling is now getting the coverage it deserves! Here's hoping that Cavendish get the green jersey and Wiggins gets the yellow! Simply cannot wait for Saturday!!!

A legend indeed. Come on Cav!

I think Cav is simply the nads!

British cycling is currently in a hell of a position with both him and others like Wiggins and some of the other Brits at Sky really looking good for not just the present, but also the future.

Asking Cav ridiculous questions with a mic and camera thrust into his face after he has just raced himself into the ground and then exploded to win a final lung-bursting sprint, is it any surprise that he sometimes offends.

I love his attitude in exactly the same way that I like the Wiggins attitude. Although a different character both seem to not be bothered at all to pandering to the cameras and much prefer to just tell us how it is.

Isn't that what we want after all?

I would love to see him at Sky but if I'm honest I'm not sure we will simply because he is the focal point of the HTC team. At Sky the ethos would be split between overall classifications, (with Wiggins to the fore), and sprint results, (with Cav the beneficiary). It would split the focus of the team and reduce it's effectiveness, (in my opinion).

I have no doubt that Cav will do well over the next 3 weeks, (and I hope Sky do well too), but I doubt that Cav will gain the recognition and plaudits in Britain that the likes of Hoy and Wiggins have been given. I think the reason for this is partly down to the way that the media portrays him, (they should flippin love him because he is always good for a quote), but also partly down to the nature of his role, (where we only see him right at the death and it might be perceived that he is a bit of a glory-hunter), when in fact it is just the role in the team to which he is most suited.

The media in this country often have a lot to answer for in the "spin" that they put on stories and the way then that public perception is moulded. This is not really aimed at the bike journo's from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, (or even the ITV2 guys who obviously seem to be very pro-Cav), but from the others who seemingly comment from a far less knowledgable position.

Cav is already a British cycling legend. The way he is going however he could become simply a cycling legend Worldwide.

Come on the Cav!

He shouldn't leave for Sky without the HTC team, you can't wave a magic wand and have the team fit together it takes time. I do not think Sky are right for him.

Like Bradley Wiggins shouldn't of left Garmin. I shall stand corrected if he does well this year.

As someone who has watched le Tour for the last 20 years Cav is not only one of the most outstanding talents of the sport but currently one of Britains most talented sportsmen. The problem is us Brits don't get road racing. Olympics doesn't come close to Tour glory and if you've know anything about what Cav does you know that in his discipline of cycling, sprinting, he is not only the best in the world but he dominates.

That is partly the problem, he'll win what 2 of every 3 stages he's capable of winning at the Tour so any less could be seen as failure. The commercial aspect as mentioned is interesting, there are what probably 5 or 6 teams realistically competing for those stages wins and if one team and one rider is winning 2 out of 3 that leases the other 4 or 5 to compete with the rest. There is a lot of respect but also alot of envy from the others. Cav has been on the end of some rediculous penalty decisions too. Last year he kinda fluffed the first two possible stage wins but still won 4 or 5 that year but the media glare on those failures is immense. Almost like the media want him to fail because it's a bigger story.

His emotional first stage win last year showed just how human the guy is and how much pressure there is on him in the first place.

He's honest, says it like he sees it and where's his heart on his sleeve so should be admired.

I half think the pop at Wiggins was right, Wiggins by the time of the madison looked spent of energy, from a selfish point of view from Brad I can understand that but ultimately meant our most talented cyclist was the only one to come back without a meddle.

Put it this way if Cav spent a little more time on something like track sprinting Chris Hoy wouldn't have a hope or a prayer, it's just for Cav his numer one priority is Road Cycling.

Personally I hope he and HTC put a little more effort into winning the Green Jersey. Seeming as his main competitors have to as there's few stage victories available after Cav has won most of them and the fact that HTC put no effort into gaining points for the green jersey he's come mighty close the last few years but again most Brits probably think if he's the best why doesn't he win that.

The man is already a legend in my mind anyway, a brilliant character and the world's best sprinter. I love his attitude and feel he is much misunderstood. I hope he does stay with HTC as they're a great team and it's refreshing to see his loyalty to them thus far, but it's probably inevitable that he'll end up at Sky one day.

I fear that uphill finishes might be a stretch too far and the likes of Hushovd will be much better suited, but I'll be rooting for the Cav alright. It will be sensational if he can win one of these type of finishes.

Good blog Ollie and good comments, here's hoping for more blogs like this throughout the Tour.

Already a legend mate.
Great video - nice to see some of the back room guys, and Bernie.
I love the "riders change their mind" line...
Don't leave HTC Cav, there's a good chap, you winning in their colours is becoming iconic, and i still have the feeling Sky is just a passing fad...

Great point Tim, there's been some shocking decisions against Cavendish over the years. I will love it if he beats Hushovd on a stage that suits the big man better!

One reason we like Cav is because he is a winner but always respects his team mates. That twitter comment is just ignorance. Come on Cav - make us all smile and cheer over the next 3 weeks like you've always done

"arguably the best sprinter in the world". Surely that should have been "unarguably"

Cav is an unsung sporting hero and deserves far more recognition for his achievements than he currently gets. His ability on a bike is extraordinairy and anyone who doubts his class should re-watch last years finish on the Champs Elysees as that alone should tell you everything you need to know about the man.

As for the Team Sky links I'm not so sure that will be a good move as he has a team at the moment in HTC Highroad that works for him and him alone. With Sky and their aim to have a British winner of the Tour de France by 2015 Cav would have to realise his own aims will always be second to Team Sky's and I don't think that will sit well with him.

Looking forward to le Tour and I hope Cav gets another handful of wins.

I actually think Le Tour have made it harder for Cav to win the Green with the changes to the points classification. Unless HTC can adapt their strategy and get points in the intermediate sprint it will be hard for Cav to win.

Especially with the first week profile seeing 4 if not 5 of the 'sprint' stages featuring inclined finishes or even proper hills. But history tells us that Le Tour like to make it harder for those they don't favour (especially English speaking ones).

Gilbert or Hushovd for Green during week 1, Cav's best chance will come later in the flatter stages. Love to see him win Green, but unless his team work for the intermediate, I can't see it being this year.

Oh and vive le Schleck or Wiggins or anyone who can Contador in his place. Bring on the appeal.

If Cav were in a headline grabbing sport like football, he would be a superstar like Messi. He is that good. He also has a great team with the likes of Mark Renshaw and Matt Goss who are both hardnut Aussies who are mental in a sprint.

I hope he takes another 5 stages this year and good luck to him on that. Also good luck to Wiggins, Swift, Thomas, Miller and all the other Brits in the TdF - it's not that long ago that we had no riders in it.

With the likelihood that the Sky track riders, Wiggins, Thomas and Swift, will be off preparing for the Olympics, having Cavendish in the squad for the 2012 Tour de France is critical for Sky. Sky is so heavily focussed on having British riders that they cannot do without him.

On the other hand, Cav can be the focus of the team for 2012 TdF, can request and will get the team he asks for so its just about unimaginable that he won't go there. It is a match made in the proverbial heaven.

Lastly, it is greatly disappointing that cycling is returning to a degree of nationalism where supporters barrack for so called 'national' teams such as Sky, Liquigas, Rabobank, Katusha and now GREENedge. I was much happier when the templates broke in the 90s and international teams bought the best riders they could afford and made decisions based on quality not flag.

Good luck to Cav and all the Brits and Irish in the race. I think Nicholas Roche will have another good race.

Its hard to look bast another Contador/Andy Schlek battle for yellow, but you never know, Gesnik could sneak in there also.

I feel that Evans time, has come and gone, same for Klodden and Levi.

I'd love to see Frank Schlek have a real go at it, but i guess he'll be doing the work for his brother, unless something happens to Andy.

Team Sky will have a good tour and i think Wiggins will be easily in the top 10.

I'm really looking forward to the TDF, especially the mountains, these guys are unbelievable, ita amazing to see them climbing the mountains, even the guys in the bus at the end of the day, are doing things most of us could only dream off, never mind the guys at the front.

Regarding being the best sprinter you can't ever compare to the past but just a look video of Mark winning at the Champs Elysee shows he's the best in the business right now

The bit I am talking about is at 1minute 40s
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Jimbokav1971 wrote: "I think Cav is simply the nads!" yep completely agree there

I'm not working this July and can't wait for Saturday. I just hope that HTC and Cav can deliver the Green.
Watching Wiggo and Team Sky is great. But it doesn't matter how good you are in GC unless you're up on the podium. But the Tour gets tougher as other teams target you, their competition.
Watching Cav is just awesome, the anticipation of those last 275 meters ... wow. Let's hope THC can help him pick up points on the way.
Roll on Saturday! Wishing you all a great Tour

nice article Ollie, I follow Cav on Twitter and what you say sounds spot-on. We all see the glam part of cycling, standing on the podium being kissed by the dolly-birds, we don't necessarily think of the regular 4-hour (or more) training rides or the way-too-early-in-the-morning visits of the dope testers that are part and parcel of these guys' lives. Not to mention the vast amount of travelling that again just goes with their job. Cavendish and other pro cyclists give us that kind of insight through their tweets.

Mikey - All pro tour teams have to have a certain number of riders (not sure exactly how many) from the country the team is based in on the squad so to some degree the teams have always been nationalistic. It doesn't mean though that Team Sky have to field an all British team or alternatively any British riders at all in a particular race.

Whether or not he's the best sprinter around, he certainly created the biggest impression I've seen from a sprinter in the last couple of years with that electrifying finish down the Champs Elysees last year.

If anyone can top that I'll consider they might be better than Cav. Until then, I think he's the best.

@Comment 30, Jason
There is no such obligation for the top World Tour teams or even the ProContinental teams. The continental teams, yes, but not any of the bigger teams. Look at Leopard Trek. A Luxembourg team with only 2 Luxembourg riders. And a few years ago, Astana were registered as Luxembourg for some reason - and they had no Luxembourg riders at the time. Also, the Farnese Viini - Neri team are registered as British this year, but they are very much Italian, and have no British riders.

He's clearly the best sprinter around today, but he has a great team around him and in particular in Renshaw he has the best lead out man around.

Cycling very similar to tennis tbh in terms of public perception except that because we have one of the biggest slams in the world it gets more coverage. Wimbledon being the equivalent of the Tour. Winning in Tennis in the Olympics is probably a similar achievement - like a minor Masters tournament!

Don't be expecting too much from Thor this year...he's Farrars lead-out man afterall.

Being Manx myself, there's absolutely no question that Cav is a legend, and with Kennaugh on the rise and Bellis recovering well, it's just a matter of time before Manx domination of the cycling world!! ;)

Seriously though, the general public at large don't understand these grand tours. I've lost count of the amount of times i've had to explain why Cav will never win a yellow jersey at Le Tour despite winning as many stages as he does. The idea that the Olympics isn't the pinnacle, also seems to confuse.

Just thought I'd add my name to the list of Mark Cavendish fans. I watch a lot of sport, and have seen a lot of top class performers, it's clear to me he is something special. Can't wait for the tour to begin...I'll be cheering him on in every stage.

There are a few sporting events each year that I get really excited about. Le Mans, World Darts Championships, golf majors to name a few but none of them compare to the Tour. And in recent times nothing compares to Cav (and his team). Bring on Saturday!

He should stay with HTC - if it's not broken why try to fix it? It's not going to be easy as new younger cyclists will start to copy his style, and the other teams will develop tactics to disrupt the HTC - as happened last year when Mark Renshaw was disqualified from the tour. As Lewis Carroll accurately described it - sometimes it takes all the running you can do, to stay in the same place.

Should've been BBc Sports personality of the year IMO. Bags of talent and Bags of personality. Hope we see much more from Cav in the near future one of those flying the flag for British sport.

Cav's a legend. Don't really need to say any more on that matter.

Re the much rumoured move to Sky: I think it will come in the next few years, but it will be determined by Wiggins' ongoing performances in the Tour. My honest belief is that Wiggins is past his prime and doesn't have the weapons to compete for the podium. If this year's Tour backs that up, expect Cav's move to Sky to come sooner rather than later. I don't think that a British team has much hope when it comes to attracting possible winners of one of the Grand Tours so their glories will have to come elsewhere. Cav fits the bill nicely with his virtually guaranteed stage and classic wins. Whether Wiggins could humble himself to become one of Cav's lead out men is another matter altogether.....

Deep-heat, its more that Wiggins isnt good enough to beat Contador/Schleck in the Mountains, not that he is 'past his prime'. Also, its possible to have GC guys and a Sprinter in a TDF team - Cav at Sky would not mean Wiggins would be needed to lead out.

Surely as a Manxman,if Cav wins gold at the Olympics,it wil be for the IOM not Britain?Or is that just the Commonwealths?

As a lover of most sports I came to road cycling only about 5 years ago - it took a while to understand it - but now I love it and having watched Cav emerge over those years has been a real treat. A lot of the problem with the publics perception, as others here have said, is a lack of understanding of how the team works and also the effect that conditions during the race can have on people - it took me a while to comprehend that they protect their sprinters from side winds, that you can get a tow from someones back wheel etc - for a lot of people in this country it's just too long winded and complicated (similar fates have befallen test cricket) - we seem to like our sport fast furious and short!! It's a great shame but their loss - though I think the highlight programs on ITV4 every day have helped.
I will be watching tomorrow cheering the Brits on and hoping that someone can overcome Contador.....
The Olympics will be a tough one for Cav - in the road race he will need other Brtish cyclists to sacrifice themselves - not sure that's going to happen.

Cavendish is a brilliant rider and definitely the fastest man on a flat road but labelling the man a legend at 24 with no green jerseys in the tour, a single milan san remo victory and no other major classic wins seems a bit much. When I compare the palmares of true legends like Sean Kelly, Freddy Maertens and Roger De Vlaeminck and place it alongside Cavendish's, Cavendish's pales in comparison.

HTC highroad has the mightiest team train for anyone on the flat with pretty much the whole team committing to the chase and a high quality sprinter like Renshaw (who could be a leader at a smaller team) leading him out. The photo in the report is of the 2009 Champs Elysee and Hincapie crushed the peloton and Renshaw led Cavendish out and could have won the stage himself (he finished 2nd). HTC also suicidally commit their GC men (Van Garderen, Velits and potentially Martin) to the chase unlike other teams like lampre where Cunego and Scarponi definitely will not work for Petacchi. The fact is HTC have two men who on their day can beat Cavendish (Goss and Renshaw) but kill themselves for his cause. Andre Greipel's struggles at OPL after leaving HTC show how important a team is as he is another blisteringly quick man.

About Cavendish going to sky or staying at HTC, Sky would do themselves no good for themselves by signing Cavendish(their intention was to win grand tours not bunch sprints). HTC on the other hand is pulling out of sponsorship of the team and they haven't found a replacement title sponsor for next year so their immediate future is in doubt. It seems likely that he will leave HTC.

avocadoflavourman - agreed it may be a bit early to call him a legend in the sport, he is unbelievably good at what he does, but legends have to have been at the top, consitantly, for quite a while to be titled 'a legend'.
However, i'm pretty sure he won the points prize in the vuelta last year which in itself is one hell of an achievement...add on the 15 tour de france stage wins and it would be pretty hard to deny that he is heading towards legendary status....but that's just my humble opinion.
He'll get the green this year. Come on Cav!

IL76 - absolutely, i do believe that he is the fastest man in the peloton and if he can sustain this form over his career we may be talking about him maybe in the same breath as Cipo. I believe he is big favourite (even counting the stages in which echelons may form) to win the Green jersey this year and also see the likes of Tyler Farrar (who isn't in top form after losing his training mate Wouter Weylandt) not performing well in the overall green jersey. In fact with the number of short uphill finishes this year a person like gilbert or maybe an all round man like Jose Joaquin Rojas may finish very well.
All I was saying was he needs to do more and try to win a lot more major races like Milan San Remo(like Zabel who helped him do a recon in 2009 when he won the MSR) as that is the only pure sprinters monument and Cavendish isn't a man who can ride on pave.

Or a world championship or many more stages in the TDF Giro and Vuelta. I also wonder how he would do if he were in weakish team like Robbie McEwen in his prime.

Correct, Cav is indeed a legend already and has the potential to grow the legend even more over the next 5-10 years. Not sure I'd like to see him at Sky as it really would be tricky to balance both his ambitions and those of a GC contender, we'll find out in September though I guess.

Nice blog, Ollie. I actually got the link to it from a Cavendish tweet, so he must have liked it too! Good to see road cycling getting its due in a positive story rather than the usual trail of bad-news failed tests.

Really looking forward to the start of the race tomorrow, and hope that everyone survives the Passage du Gois - even if it's the neutral part of the stage, I wouldn't put it past someone to fall off and get injured. Vive le Tour!

Let's get some things straight. Some members of the press just need to take a long hard look at themselves and start doing their own jobs well. If they were anywhere near as good as Cav is at his, we might actually get some reporting worth taking any notice of.
First and foremost: know the sport you're talking about, as otherwise you will justifiably be treated with disdain by interviewees asked to respond to inane comments. And by the way, the treatment given to journalists by so-called "prickly" sportspeople is nowhere near the vitriol they get from the press in return.
Secondly: those "prickly" personalities are mostly absolutely nothing of the sort. It is a label invented by the press for people they don't know how to deal with because they don't conform to what the press in its ultimate wisdom considers to be acceptable (and we know how accurate that view is) or have made them look silly (unforgivable!).
Thirdly: Cav IS ALREADY one of the greatest road sprinters in international professional cycling. He is already ahead of former greats like Maertens, Zabel and Cippollini at a similar career stage. Barring disaster he will end his career among the best of all time. And even if the wins dried up now, his would still be a massive achievement. Cav is a sprinting phenomenon – worldwide, never mind the UK. And if our press knew anything about the history of professional road racing they wouldn't need telling that. So, representatives of the media, please recognise the fact and start celebrating it!

Look guys as usually you believe too much of the hype about British sportstars in the media. It is only in the last couple of years when he rose to prominence on the tour that the media started calling stage wins race wins. In 20 years of follwoing cycling this was a new phenomenon to me. I ackowledge his stage wins and it is a big achievement but also a somewhat hollow one when you look at his career.

Mark Cavendish is a super fast sprinter and quicker than anyone else in a straight line right now. Don't confuse this with being a great cyclist. He has been fortunate to have a great team and lead out men but he doesn't make opportunities for himself to win stages other than a quick few hundred metre burst.

Think about his career to date and what he has achieved, how many classics he has won ( a typically mark of an exceptional all round sprinter, he has won 1 in a five year career) all the complaining he does and how everyne is supposed to feel sorry for him not winning a stage. Then cast you mind back to all the great sprinters and tour and how they went about their business, how they won stages through pure grit and determination as well as straight line speed and finally how they didn't bottle it and just give up and moan if there was no opportunity to win. He doesn't win races on anything but the super flat finishes and he doesn't push himself to pick up points through the stages to get the green jersey. Mark will always be a super fast sprinter in the same way he will always have an extremely abrasive and quite frankly childish, immature and unprofessional personaily/attitude but he will never be a great cylist/sprinter as he doesn't have the mental aptitude or inner steel to be more than his fellow competitors who endure the same raceday hardships.

Message 52

Hope you enjoyed your slice of humble pie last night whilst watching the days highlights.

I think you need to read my comment again and see that I said he is a very fast sprinter. I never stated that he couldn’t win a stage (he had already proved this). Hope you were watching last night when he finished well down the GC again. All I said was that he doesn’t have the tenacity or desire to scoop up intermediate sprints or the all round skills to hang in and put himself in a better position more regularly to win. I doubt he will win the green jersey this year again because of this and is relying on stage victories (a risky strategy which he has failed on the last 2 years).

Lets get things in perspective, Cav is the most talented cyclist in the world at present, he is the Messi of cycling.
Love the way everyone questions his attitude, go to the IoM and you will find out where that attitude comes from. To get on there you have to be honest and straight talking with measured compassion. To a manxie, Cav's attitude is text book and the way to go, hope he doesn't change.
Cav gets more press internationally than he does in his native country, he has hero status in the community but is accepted as just an ordinary guy, probably because fame has not changed him, still one of the lads.
Great stage 7 Cav, bring home the green.

My take on comparing the best cyclist is that it is similar to comparing the best footballer - It's all a nonsense. Much as footballers have varied roles, so too do cyclists. Criticising Cav for not winning on cobbles or hauling himself up hills to try and get the yellow for a few days is like criticising a goalkeeper for not scoring more goals - neither are his job. The guy is designed for bunch sprints, and is arguably better at them than anyone else in history. He will never be a Merckx, and he will never be as good a time trialer as Cancellara or as good a climber as Contador - but that will not lessen his achievements.

As an aside, only just noticed that those current 3 stars all have names beginning with 'C'. We really are blessed to have such great and varied talents as Contador, Cavendish, and Cancellara to watch. Vive Le Tour.

Cavendish is the best sprinter I've seen in thirty years. Perfect instincts, and rips everyone's legs off when he throws the bike. As for the gripes about his being "spiky," if we replaced the term "professional sports" with "commercial sports," it would eliminate some of the confusion born of misplaced idealism. Blind aggression wins races, but that quality scares the timid souls who don't have it. I certainly don't have it, but the tens of thousands of road miles I have under my butt have taught me a few things about who prevails and who doesn't, and why. If drowning a kitten would get you a TDF stage win, would you do it? I didn't think so. Neither would I. But I can name an American cyclist who would have.

Only just read this piece so sorry for joining the party a little late.

Have to take issue with Phil (52). Since when do stage wins not count as professional career wins? You must have been following a different version of cycling to me. All wins count as a 'race win' whether they be a 8km prologue, sprint stage, one day race or overall Grand Tour and everything in between. Your post seems to suggest that only GC winners of stage races or one day classic race wins count as actual wins?

And Phil again, point 54, I see Cav has also contested most of the intermediate sprints this time round. The only other green jersey contender who has been as prominent as him at the intermediate sprints has been Rojas. Gilbert just does not have the sprinting speed and has begun to fade before the real sprints have started although I love his attacking style. In other words, there is very little to criticise in Cav's approach so far.

Regarding your comment that he lacks tenacity or the desire to get himself into winning positions more regularly I would love to know which other cyclists put themselves in a position to win more regularly than him? What should he be doing differently? He plays to his strengths (why would he do otherwise?) and looks well on course to win green this time around as well as collecting a few stage wins.

First of all how can Mark Cavendish be allowed to ride for Great Britain? Unless the Isle of Man has achieved a different status that I haven't heard about.

Secondly whilst in no doubt that Cavendish is a brilliant sprinter to compare him to Eddy Merckx is beyond the pale. You have to remember that Merckx won those 34 stages whilst winning the Tour de France 5 times, an incredible achivement. That's not to mention him winning the Giro d'italia 5 times, the World Championship 4 times and holding the hour record as well.

It seems that Cavendish is just content to win stages, which is fine but if you talk about Merckx,Hinault,Armstrong etc do you think of how many stages they won or how many tours they won? Ultimately it's all about the winning the big ones which Cavendish dosen't seem interested in.

@Mem101.

The Isle of man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although it does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (i.e., in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).

If that is not sufficient, (and it might not be), then his mum is English and comes from Yorkshire, (so Cav is qualified to represent Britain, the land of his mothers birth).

I sort of get your point about comparing Cav to Merckx but I also think that as much as it proves your point, it also proves it the other way. Cav has won all these stages, (and another one today), but he has done so with the obvious limitations of not even being able to challenge for mountainous stages, (so I might argue that Merckx had far more opportunities to win stages).

Nobody is suggesting that Cav is the best Grand Tour rider of all time and I would go far as to say that it is almost impossible to compare riders like this who have such different roles in a team.

Cav is never going to win a TdF and isn't as likely as someone like Gilbert for example to go and win a classic. His role within his team us to go and win certain stages and races and he does just that.

From my limited knowledge, professional cycling has become far more about the "team" than the "individual" and as money and exposure and sponsors are so important now, the exposure and instant gratification of a stage win has now become more important than in days gone by.

HTC have been ridiculously successful at this and have done so with a style that seems at odds with maybe what we used historically to grade or judge success. Fortunately/unfortunately depending on your position, things change with the times and now individual stages are classed as races within races, (remember it's a professional sport and in professional sport it is all about money), so HTC emplys Cav to do what he does best and makes best use of it's resources for the greatest possible return.

In trying to compare the likes of Cav to GC greats such as Merckx or Armstrong, I see that similar to trying to compare a midfielder to a striker or a centre-back in football, (or a winger to a No 8 in rugby).

The way that professional cycling has developed is that now there are very defined roles within a team and with the increased pressures from sponsors for success and exposure, someone like Cav has become more valuble within a team.

If you are a sponsor, are you going to pay more for Cav to wear your name emblazoned all over him when he might win 5-7 stages during a tour, or to sponsor the likes of either Schleck, Contador, Wiggins or Evans who will hide for much of the tour surrounded by their mates and then go and win the tour by performing on 1 tough mountain stage and then hanging on for dear life while someone else batters them in the Time Trial?

If I was a sponsor then I know where I think woudl get me the most exposure.

You are right that it is impossible to compare Cav to GC greats of the past, (and it is something that should be avoided).

Although I am not that knowledgable myself, I have some little knowledge of cycling and I am aware od something called the VΓ©lo d'Or which is an award that is commonly recognised as the most prestigious award withn professional cycling and is awarded to the cyclist who has performed the best over the course of the year.

Although it was first awarded only as fas back as the early 90's, it readls like a who's who of professional cycling, (I'm sure you know this anyway).

So while my knowledge of cycling is limted to the likes of Cippolini, Abdujabarov, Zabel, and Cav, a glance at the VΓ©lo d'Or awards shows me that the most prestigious award within pro cycling, (and this are not my words), do recognise the acheivements of these "new" sprinters.

Cippolini was the first to introduce the tactic that we now know as the lead-out train and Cav and HTC are just taking it to new levels. He is being the best at what he is good at. It seems pretty sensible to me.

The VΓ©lo d'Or wasn't in existance when Merckx was riding and had it been I have absolutely no doubt that he would have won it, (like everything else), on numerous occasion, (as Armstrong did).

Cav came 2nd in this award on 2009 and I would suggest that he is in contention again this year with the likes of Gilbert. Who is more worthy of recognition? These 2 or the likes of Evans, Schleck or Contador who hide in the pack for most of the tour while these guys are duking it out?

I think Merck and Armstrong stand alone within cycling due to what they have acheived, but I also think that Cav is re-writing the record books as far as sprinting is concerned and I do not think that "legend" is too strong a word to describe him.

;)