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| Cavendish leaves rivals in his wake once again. |
In the early hours of Sunday morning Mark Cavendish will attempt to write another remarkable chapter in a career that gets better and better.
The 'Manx Missile' will attempt to become the first Briton since Tommy Simpson in 1965 to win the World Championship and few would bet against him wearing the rainbow jersey next season.
The 25-year-old sprinter comes into the Championships in the form of his life and fresh on the back of becoming the first Briton in 21 years to earn the points jersey at a Grand Tour.
He is the fastest cyclist in the world at the moment and despite his perceived arrogance
few would disagree.
Cycling has taken a battering in the last few days after three time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was provisionally banned after testing positive for the banned drug clenbuterol. On the same day Ezequiel Mosquera, runner-up in La Vuelta, and his Xacobeo team-mate David Garcia Da Pena both tested positive for banned substance hydroxyethyl starch during the Vuelta. It was yet another kick in the teeth for cycling but Cavendish can be the one to pull the sport out of the doldrums.
It will be a tough race for Cavendish because Briton, as a lower ranked nation, will only have three riders in the field. The course also has some short steep climbs which do not usually suit him.
Cavendish will be assisted by David Miller – fresh from his World time trial silver – and Jeremy hunt who will do their best to keep him in a challenging position. He will also have some of his HTC Columbia team mates on the road and will be looking to them for a little helping hand.
However, Cavendish is a brilliant racer in his own right and his pedigree testifies to that.
The Isle of man star is the highest placed British rider on the list of Tour de France stage wins with 15 and a t the peak of his physical powers there is every chance of him pushing up the list and even targeting the legendary Eddy Merckx's 34 stage wins.
It is Cavendish's desire which stands him out from the rest. After a less than impressive start to this years Tour de France Cavendish showed guts and determination to fight back and claim five stage wins. He won most of his stages without his HTC Columbia lead out man Mark Renshaw - who took a decidedly over-enthusiastic approach to clearing the Manxman's path and was booted out of the race. With more luck and better preparation we might even be talking about Tour de France green points jersey holder but the vest still eludes him.
However, few would bet against him achieving this in the next few years.
To add to his reputation he is part of a list of riders who have claimed at least one stage individually in each of the three Grand Tours.
He joins Simon Gerrans, Alessandro Petacchi, Pablo Lastras, David Zabriskie, Denis Menchov and Daniele Bennati in the small circle of the current professional riders who have won a stage on each of the Grand Tours.
At this year's Tour of Spain, Cavendish became only the second Briton to secure a sprint title in one of the top three stage races following Malcolm Elliott's 1989 triumph in Spain.
His honours list reads 15 Tour de France stage wins, 5 Giro d'Italia stage wins, 3 Vuelta a Espana stage wins, The points classification jersey of the same event. Add to it his two World Championship Gold medals and a Commonwealth Games Gold. What a CV!
It must be remembered he only started road racing in 2007 but even then he showed signs of true potential. In his debut season for T-mobile he achieved eleven wins in his f, equalling the record held by Alessandro Petacchi.
British athletes are not usually associated with being winners but Cavendish is and he does not get bored of it. He loves to win and in a very non-British way he knows he is good.
It is this trait in his personality which does not endear him to some of his competitors. The HTC Columbia rider is seen as arrogant and moody but this is him in racing mode.
In 2008, journalists at the Tour de France asked him if he was the best sprinter, he replied 'Yes'. But in the world of cycling that is seen as arrogance and he went on to say: “if they don't ask me, I don't say I'm the best sprinter in the world.”
It is rare a British athlete has the confidence to believe in his ability but that is the beauty of Cavendish. He is endearing himself into the hearts of the British public by winning and do we like a winner. maybe one day the sports authorities will respect the calibre of the man instead of putting all their hopes in riders who let them down. Cavendish is clean and good at his sport.
This is why it will be hard to over-look Cavendish coming home wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey on his back. It is even harder, at the moment, to look past the sprinter when the BBC sports personality of the year awards come round in December.
The sprinter has had an unbelievable season, rewriting record book after record book, winning stage after stage and even a points jersey. He also has the chance to add to it with with the World Championship and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which follows the event in Melbourne.
It is time we celebrated a true winner in this country and someone who truly excels at the pinnacle of his sport. Whatever the result on Sunday Cavendish has had a remarkable season and either way it needs to be recognised.
