• Vuelta a Espana

Cavendish eager to banish Tour heartbreak in Vuelta

ESPN staff
September 15, 2010
Mark Cavendish is eager to remain in green © Getty Images
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Mark Cavendish has revealed that he is desperate to shrug off his Tour de France heartbreak by claiming the green jersey at the Vuelta a Espana.

The Manx missile got off to a laboured start in the Tour that he was never able to recover from as he attempted to top the points standings.

Cavendish suffered for his early woes - despite winning five stages, he was eventually forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the battle for the green jersey, which was won by Alessandro Petacchi.

The HTC-Columbia rider now finds himself well-poised to avoid a repeat of that disappointment - he is 18 points ahead of Joaquin Rodriguez, the overall race leader in the Vuelta, as he bids to seal his reputation as the planet's most devastating sprinter.

"The points classification wasn't an objective when I came here and it came as a surprise when I first got it without winning a stage," Cavendish said. "But the green jersey's a goal for me now. Rodriguez is more interested in the overall race so I'm pretty confident."

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