Only two cyclists have ever won more Tour de France stages than Mark Cavendish and if current form is anything to go by that number could be down to one by the end of July.
The 29-year-old Olympian enjoyed a fine week at the Tour of California as he sprinted to his fourth stage victory on Sunday and collected the points classification jersey.
While Cavendish has 25 stage wins to his name in Le Tour, his 2014 campaign was far-from ideal as he crashed out during stage one in Yorkshire.
That meant he couldn’t close the gap on Belgian rider Eddy Merckx who has 34 wins and five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault who is second on 28.
But with his team taking five stages in California, Cavendish believes the conditions could be perfect for a memorable 2015.
“I’m happy to finish off a strong Amgen Tour of California with my fourth win, and the fifth for the team out of eight stages,” said Cavendish.
“Really it’s about the team and how we rode all week. We were on the podium every day. We rode so strong.
“In the end we got two jerseys, yet another stage win, and a second place overall. I’m super proud of what we’ve done here and think things are going in the right direction ahead of the Tour de France.
“I’ve been happy with my form all year, which to me is the same as my form last year at this time.
“Had I not crashed in the first stage of Le Tour in 2014 I am fully confident I could have gone for multiple stages. So we’ll see what I can do this year.”
© Sportsbeat 2015