"He is the man of the moment. The strength training in preparation for the Olympic track events in the Tour has probably done him good," said Greipel's team boss Marc Sergeant. He did not hold back in his praise for his rival, even if his protégé was the victim of the performance explosion of the Briton from the Isle of Man, finishing fourth in Utah Beach and second in Angers.
Cavendish's second stage win this year in Angers was his 28th in total, putting the 31-year-old level with five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault in the all-time leaderboard and just six wins behind cycling legend Eddy Merckx. "He has what it takes to catch up with Merckx," said Hinault, who was the last Frenchman to win cycling's great summer theatre in 1985. "I am super happy. It's an honour to have caught up with Hinault," said Cavendish in Angers.
The most successful sprinter in the 113-year history of the Tour has changed from a little bully to an obviously balanced family man. The times of mobbing, which Greipel in particular suffered from during their time together at HTC Highroad, are over. Cavendish (nickname: "Manxman") always appears at the podium ceremonies with his little son David and daughter Grace-Delilah. On the edge of the podium, his wife Peta Todd, a former glamour model, waits for the first kiss from her husband.
Rolf Aldag, who mentored the Briton as a young pro at T-Mobile back in 2006 and helped guide him to 25 of his 28 victories, also played a part in Cavendish's success. This season, the successful tandem was reunited in the South African team Dimension-Data. The long-serving team boss thinks highly of the fast Briton, who has returned to his roots in track cycling.
"He's the best Tour sprinter of all time - that's clear. And it doesn't matter whether he breaks Merckx's record or not. Those were different times, different races anyway," said Aldag, who calculated at least four more possible victories for the 2011 world champion.
Aldag lists the reasons for Cavendish's kick-start to the 2016 Tour: "The team change certainly gave him a certain boost. He also benefited from the British organisation's Olympic preparations together with many young riders in Manchester."
