There is nothing modest about the statement on Mark Cavendish’s Web site.
“Mark Cavendish. Fastest man on two wheels. Fact,” it says.
There is nothing to argue about there, either.
The British cyclist finally captured the elusive green jersey for best sprinter in the Tour de France on Sunday and he did it in the best way possible. Cavendish won a mass sprint on the Champs-Elysees to take the final stage of cycling’s premier race for the third year in a row.
It was his fifth stage victory this year and it finally earned him the coveted jersey that was the only accolade missing from the star sprinter’s list of successes.
“The Tour de France for me is so far ahead of everything else,” the 26-year-old Cavendish said. “My whole year is built around being in my best condition for here and to win as much as possible, so I’ll keep coming back for as long as my legs can keep coming back and I’ll keep trying to win for as long as my legs can keep trying to win.”
While other riders fight for the overall Tour title, Cavendish’s goal is simply to win as many stages and get as many sprint points as possible. To do that, he has most of his HTC-Highroad team set up to keep him out of danger until the end, then to get him into the perfect position to sprint forward and win in the final meters of the race. It’s a plan that’s worked almost perfectly every year.
“On behalf of eight other incredible guys, it’s been an incredibly hard Tour de France. We’ve had to work hard for this jersey, but ... we’re incredibly happy,” Cavendish said.
Cavendish comes from the wind-swept and mountainous Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea. It’s an island that has a long history in cycling. Still, none has achieved anything like the success of Cavendish.
It’s three years since he first made a splash in the Tour, though he was already a multiple world champion in track cycling by then.
He won four stages in the 2008 Tour. A year later, he came back and took six, then last year he had five. With the five he won this year, he now has 20 stage victories — the joint fifth-highest of all time.
Cavendish is the first to admit that he is never going to win the Tour and he doesn’t claim to be the fastest man on two wheels except for the final seconds of each stage — and then only if it’s flat. He is one of the worst climbers in the peloton and he needs the help of his teammates just to stay with the race.
Cavendish has been the subject of speculation about whether he will stick with HTC-Highroad or move elsewhere next season. So it wasn’t surprising that he was asked by journalists whether he could say how many offers he has received and when he will make a decision.
Cavendish appeared to consider the question. And consider it. And consider it.
After 30 seconds of silence he looked up and said: “No.”
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