Cycling: Mark Cavendish back in saddle as Tour heads into the Alps

Published on Monday 18 July 2011 12:16

Mark CAVENDISH'S bid to secure the Tour de France green jersey continues today as the race heads for the Alps.

The 26-year-old from the Isle of Man has won four stages of the 2011 Tour and entered today's 162.5-kilometre 16th stage from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap with a 37-point lead in the points classification.

However, for Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) this section of the Tour is about merely survival and reaching Paris, where he hopes to stand atop the podium in the maillot vert.

Renowned more for his sprint finish than his climbing ability, Cavendish often rides merely to finish inside the time limit, which is set at a percentage of the stage winner's time, depending on the severity of the stage. Cavendish said: "It's just about suffering. It will end at some point, whether you're in or out of the time limit. I'm lucky I've got Bernie with me."

Cavendish's faithful team-mate and room-mate Bernhard Eisel - a man the Briton describes as his "best friend in the world" - is by his side for the entirety of the 3,430-kilometre Tour and has an additional role.

The Briton is so concerned about allegations of cheating by holding onto the team car that Eisel must collect his drinks bottles.

Cavendish, who is continually watched by race officials, added: "I'm scared to even collect a bottle from the car now in case someone gets a photo of me just grabbing a bottle and accuses me of hanging on."

Cavendish leads the points classification on 319 points, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) second on 282 and Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) third on 248.