Cavendish Canary Wharf visit has cycle fans in a spin

Known as the Manx Missile because of his phenomenal sprinting speed, Cavendish, 24, has won 10 stages of the Tour in just two years. Put into context, the previous best British total was eight by Barry Hoban between 1967 and 1975.

The Isle of Man native also narrowly missed out on bringing home the green jersey for the race's best sprinter, after being disqualified on stage 14 after a clash with fellow rider - and jersey winner - Thor Hushovd. But he's determined to win it next year.

He said: "Hopefully I'll win the green jersey at next year's Tour. It was very close this year, lost on default and not on sport, which is a shame. I've sorted things out with Thor now. That's sport, but it's a shame when that happens and hopefully I can get it next year."

Cavendish did win the prestigious one-day classic Milan-San Remo in March, has stage wins in the Giro d'Italia, and has twice been a world champion in the madison event.

But he's not resting on his palmares, with next year's targets already being planned, including a crack at the World Road Race title in Melbourne next September.

He said: "That's a big goal for me as it's a sprinter friendly course. It means I might have to miss the Commonwealth Game because it comes a week after the World Championships. If I can fit it in, I will, but we'll see.

"I'm also planning to ride Milan-San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders at the beginning of the year, so hopefully I can get some more good results there."

Sir Chris Hoy became a household name after his exploits in the Beijing velodrome last year. Cavendish was hotly tipped to win gold with Bradley Wiggins in the madison race but the pair finished well down the field.

He was disappointed at the time but success at the Tour has been more than compensation, so he's not yet setting his sights on 2012 gold.

He said: "It's still a bit far away. We've got a lot of races to go - two World Championships, three Tours de France, three Milan-San Remos, three seasons before then.

"I'm not really that disappointed not to win a medal at the Olympics. I won six stages at the Tour de France this year and that was good enough for me."

Cavendish rubbed shoulders with one of the all-time greats of cycling when Lance Armstrong returned to the Tour de France peloton this year. What was that like?

He said: "It was alright, you know. He was a legend when I was growing up and it was great to ride with him."

Future riders in the Tour could view him with the same awe as the American, although Cavendish had a ready quip for that.

"They already do," he said.

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