• Tour de France

Cavendish ready to dig deep to keep green jersey

Mark Cavendish celebrates after claiming the green jersey © Getty Images

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HTC-Highroad rider Mark Cavendish is prepared to do everything it takes to hold onto the fabled green jersey over the remainder of the Tour de France.

Cavendish has never won the green jersey, awarded each year to the Tour's top sprinter, despite winning multiple stages in each of his last four campaigns.

He currently leads the 2011 standings by 34 points thanks to his four stage wins to date, but will have to dig deep simply to avoid elimination over the next few stages as the race heads through the Alps.

"I'm just going to have to suffer the next three days and try and save some energy," Cavendish said. "The Tour organisers have changed the rules and the points system this year. If you win a lot of stages you will get the green jersey."

The Manx rider currently has 319 points in the green jersey classification, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) second on 285, Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) third on 250 and Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) fourth on 235.

Hushovd won Monday's stage, but Cavendish avoided losing too much of his points advantage with a surprisingly strong ride.

"I wasn't going to go for it today. I was going to save my legs because we've still got the Alps," he noted. "But we started the climb and I thought 'This is quite small' and I felt good. I jumped across to a group in front, felt strong and just decided to go on.

"I gave it everything I had at the final. I tried hard to stay with them [Rojas and Gilbert] over the climb. I was very lucky today, but there are three big days ahead of us now and we'll have to fight all the way."

Elsewhere, British rider Geraint Thomas has extended his contract with Team Sky until 2014.

The Welshman wore the white jersey for the Tour's best young rider during the early stages of the event, and is tipped for success both in future Tours and at London 2012.

"The team have shown their potential over the last 18 months and I am delighted to have been a part of that success," Thomas said in a statement on the Team Sky website. "The management have shown real faith in me as a rider and I feel like I'm improving all the time.

"The future is really exciting for Team Sky and British Cycling and I'm thrilled I will be able to play a part in it."

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