Cavendish fails to impress

CHOLET – Expectations were high on Mark Cavendish before the start of the Tour de France but the Briton has failed to deliver in the early stages which had seemed, on paper, to favour his finishing power.

With seven victories this season, Cavendish found himself the most successful sprinter to start the Tour after Belgian Tom Boonen and Alessandro Petacchi were ruled out on doping grounds. The Team Columbia rider, 22, also showed this year by winning two sprint finishes on the Giro d’Italia that he could handle the special pressure of a three-week race.His best result last year in his first Tour de France was ninth in a stage in Compiegne and he almost matched that in Monday’s third stage to Nantes, taking 10th place.The placing marked a clear improvement from 129th in the Tour opener in Plumelec and 27th the next day in St Brieuc but was still far below his hopes.”I would be a little bit disappointed if I didn’t win one stage on this Tour,” Cavendish said before the start of the fourth stage, a 29,5-km individual time trial in Cholet.Nampa-ReutersThe Team Columbia rider, 22, also showed this year by winning two sprint finishes on the Giro d’Italia that he could handle the special pressure of a three-week race.His best result last year in his first Tour de France was ninth in a stage in Compiegne and he almost matched that in Monday’s third stage to Nantes, taking 10th place.The placing marked a clear improvement from 129th in the Tour opener in Plumelec and 27th the next day in St Brieuc but was still far below his hopes.”I would be a little bit disappointed if I didn’t win one stage on this Tour,” Cavendish said before the start of the fourth stage, a 29,5-km individual time trial in Cholet.Nampa-Reuters