Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia-HTC) came into this Tour knowing that he was the fastest. Everyone else figured the same.
Expectation is one thing, backing it up another altogether. By the 21st of July Cavendish had won a quarter of the stages on offer and brought his career tally to eight total Tour de France stage wins.
Relegation for an irregular sprint at the conclusion of stage 14 may turn out to cost Cavendish the green jersey, but it's a relatively minor blemish on what has been another dazzling series of sprint wins.
Click here to view images of Mark Cavendish's Tour de France
