British rider Mark Cavendish admitted he is looking to claim the yellow jersey on the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday.
The Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider will go into the race in good form after winning his first senior British title in Glasgow last Sunday.
The opening stage of the Tour sees the riders battle a 213km trek from Porto Vecchio to Bastia and Cavendish is targeting a 24th career stage win which would put him in the yellow jersey for Sunday’s second stage.
Cavendish is determined to take the opportunity and get his Tour off to a solid start as he looks to show his class away from Team Sky.
“It’s a big, big goal and a huge motivation for a team built around stage wins. It’s a strong group of sprinters this year. To get a win won’t be easy, especially in the first stage of the Tour.
“I’ve altered my training to be able to go well in that first stage.
We’ll go for it, but you have to show the Tour de France respect – nothing’s a given. We’ll try our best and see what happens.
“Physiologically I can’t win the yellow jersey; I can’t go away and practice climbing. The biggest goal for me every year is the green jersey. I was lucky to win it after a few attempts in 2011.”
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