Mark Cavendish wants to become the first Briton to win the green points jersey at this year’s Tour de France.
The 24-year-old sprinter won six stages in last year’s event and was just 10 points behind Norway’s Thor Hushovd in the green jersey standings.
“Last year it wasn’t a failure for me not to win it,” he said.
“But this year if I don’t win it, it will be a failure. From now on until I retire, in the Tour the green jersey will always be my biggest aim.”
He was the first Briton to win on the Champs-Elysees as he claimed victory in the final stage in Paris.
Cavendish says he is happy to stay on at Columbia despite the formation of Britain’s new Team Sky road racing team, which boasts the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and highly successful team coach Dave Brailsford.
“Racing against a home-based set-up is going to be strange at first although I’ve raced against all the guys on that team,” added Cavendish.
“But at the end of the day I’ve never made it a secret HTC-Columbia is the perfect place for me to keep on winning races.”
Cavendish also ruled out taking part in the Commonwealth Games, which takes place in Delhi in October, after having a disappointing time at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
He pulled out of that year’s Tour de France early to prepare for the Games but ended up being the only GB track cyclist not to win an Olympic medal.
“I made the mistake of putting national pride ahead of my career in the 2008 Olympics and I’m not going to do that again,” he said.
And he added that he is also concentrating on the world road-race championships in Melbourne in October.
“The world championships is also a massive, massive focus for me,” he said. “Just thinking about pulling on the [winner's] rainbow jersey gives me goosebumps.
“I know I’ll have great support from British cycling and for the next two years the road-race course could be good for me.”
Mark Cavendish - Photo DPPI
Mark Cavendish wants to become the first Briton to win the green points jersey at this year’s Tour de France.
The 24-year-old sprinter won six stages in last year’s event and was just 10 points behind Norway’s Thor Hushovd in the green jersey standings.
“Last year it wasn’t a failure for me not to win it,” he said.
“But this year if I don’t win it, it will be a failure. From now on until I retire, in the Tour the green jersey will always be my biggest aim.”
He was the first Briton to win on the Champs-Elysees as he claimed victory in the final stage in Paris.
Cavendish says he is happy to stay on at Columbia despite the formation of Britain’s new Team Sky road racing team, which boasts ..Continue reading..
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Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez has planned a completely different approach to the season next year, target week-long stage races and the Tour de France, rather than the emphasis he placed on the Classics, Vuelta and World Championships in 2009.
