Mark Cavendish

Speed Freak

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1. Cavendish won eleven races in his first season as a road racer - equalling the record set by Alessandro Petacchi.

2. In last year's Tour de France Cavendish won four stages - something never done before by a Brit. If he were an Italian there would be a statue of him in their version of Trafalgar Square.

3. At 13 Cavendish was inspired to race after meeting pro racer David Millar. " He gave me a cap and some photos," Cavendish explains.

4. His view of his own skill is clear: "I'm an old-school sprinter. I can't climb a mountain but if I am in front with 200 metres to go then there's nobody who can beat me."

5. In winning the third stage of this year's Tour de France Cavendish is the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row.

6. Although seen a cocky, Cavendish does have a point: "The fact is, you look at the replays of my wins at the Tour, and I'm the fastest sprinter. I'm stating a fact. It's not just me saying 'I'm the fastest sprinter' without backing it up - I'm stating a fact, you know?"

7. Cavendish was denied his first Tour stage win (when the Tour was in England) by an errant spectator: "It was 25km from the finish and I was up at the front. If I had been further back I would've been OK. The next thing I know I'm lying on the ground. I hit a woman."

8. He was accused by Italian Filippo Pozzato of holding on to the back of a car when his climbing skills improved. "They can't understand I've gone home and worked hard," he says. "It's frustrating but, you know, he's a dickhead. I don't give a shit, really."

9. Accusation of doping in cycling really pisses him off. "Everyone thinks cycling is a big doping sport," he claims. "But Wimbledon is on at the minute. You can't tell me there're not dickheads doing drugs in that sport."

10. Mark's bike is a Scott Addict, custom built. It is made of carbon fibre, has deep section Zipp wheels and PRO handlebars. The frame is 52cm and has a half-naked woman draped in a Union Jack painted onto the head tube.