British cycling sprint king Mark Cavendish has admitted that he is in great form going into the weekend's British Championship and more importantly, the Tour De France which starts in Vendee, south of Nantes on July 2nd.
Speaking to our friends at cyclingnews.com at a press conference at the Bar Italia in London this morning, Cavendish said: “This is the best form I’ve had for two years, absolutely.
“The difference compared to last year is that I’ve had no real problems, no crashes. OK, there were no bunch sprints for me to win at the Tour of Switzerland, but it was so mountainous that it’s bound to get you going for the Tour.
“I’m also a lot more confident this year. “I was confident last year but this year I’ve no accidents along the way to upset my build-up.”
If Cavendish is to get the Green Jersey, new rules mean that there is only one intermediate sprint per stage worth twenty points and he will have to go for those sprints. However, he is prepared saying: “The organisers changed the rule because they saw that the fastest sprinter wasn’t winning the green jersey.
“We’ve looked at where the intermediate sprints are, time limits, the maps, everything. We always do our homework. We very, very rarely make a mistake. Every other day at the moment, I’m looking at the profiles.”
For those planning on taking in the start of the Le Tour which starts on July 2nd, please note that there is very little in the way of public transport in the Vendee region and the region's major bus company Souvetours have said they will not be putting on any more buses to cope with the demand of around half a million people other than those they already run.