• London 2012

Cavendish targets historic hat-trick at London 2012

Mark Cavendish says the rainbow jersey is worth more than Olympic gold © PA Photos

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Mark Cavendish has set his sights on completing a remarkable treble at London 2012, but admits even an Olympic gold medal cannot top his rainbow jersey triumph in Denmark.

Cavendish underlined his status as the world's best sprinter with an explosive finish in the men's road race at the Road World Championships to become the first British champion since Tom Simpson in 1965.

It caps a superb year for the Manxman, who won the green jersey at the Tour de France earlier in the summer. And with the Olympic road race scheduled on July 28, the day after the opening ceremony in London, Cavendish has the chance to bring home Britain's first gold medal, but he admits that the Olympics are secondary to the World Championships.

"As a British citizen, I want to win the Olympics but as a cyclist I can't get much bigger than winning the rainbow jersey," he said. "When I was younger I wanted to be the world champion. There's something about the bands. It's a dream come true.

"I can't win the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, so this signifies the biggest thing I can get. I can wear the jersey all next year and the bands on my sleeve for the rest of my life."

While Cavendish was propelled to the finish line by his seven British team-mates in a superb team performance, the Olympics features smaller five-man teams, and with Bradley Wiggins likely to focus his efforts in the velodrome, Cavendish admits it will be a tall order to add Olympic gold to his world crown.

"It's going to be difficult at the Olympics," Cavendish admitted. "The team is only five riders and we can't be left to do it all, like here. The course is much more difficult.

"Some of the guys might be missing on track duty, but we will give everything to try to win in front of a home crowd. This gives us massive hope. We have established Great Britain as a dominant nation in cycling."

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