Cavendish wants day in yellow

Mark Cavendish has won 25 Tour stages
22 January 2014

Mark Cavendish has set his sights on wearing the yellow jersey when the Tour de France comes to Yorkshire this summer.

The Manx sprinter has won 25 Tour stages, claiming the green jersey for winning the points classification in 2011, and sits third on the all-time list for stage wins but he has never held the general classification leader's jersey.

The 2014 edition of the race gets under way on July 5, with the first stage going from Leeds to Harrogate, and Cavendish is desperate to claim victory on a route that is set up for the sprinters and wear yellow, if only for a day.

"If I had to choose one stage of the 21 in the Tour, that's got to be it," he told the Independent.

"It's my mum's home town, it's designed for a sprint.

"I haven't yet worn the maillot jaune and I want to do it."

He added: "I want to win wherever I race, the team's invested a lot in me.

"But if there's one race that I can win in 2014, then that would be it."

Following the conclusion of the Tour will come the Commonwealth Games road race in Glasgow where Cavendish will swap his Omega Pharma-Quick Step jersey for that of his native Isle of Man.

The 28-year-old won Commonwealth gold on the track in the scratch race in Melbourne eight years ago and he is relishing the opportunity to represent the island of his birth once again.

"I'm super-motivated for that, too," he added. "It's on the course where I won the British National Championships in 2013, and the Isle of Man has an incredibly strong team.

"I love doing it because it's with all my mates, the guys I grew up with, we've been bashing around since we were juniors.

"There's me, Pete Kennaugh, Mark Christian who was with Sean Kelly's team and now he's with Raleigh, Andrew Roche who rode the Commie Games in India, Joe Kelly too.

"It's not that often you can get to represent the Isle of Man. I'm British and proud to be, but it's nice because I get to be racing with guys I've raced with my whole life."

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