Cavendish breaks records and makes enemies

British cyclist Mark Cavendish is tearing up the record books in this year's Tour de France, recording his fourth stage victory yesterday and equalling the mark of eight career stage victories set by Barry Hoban between 1967 and 1975. He's also making enemies at every turn with his take-no-prisoners approach to racing, both on and off the road.

A story in the French sports paper L'Equipe yesterday claimed that Cavendish had slagged off the French while being kept waiting for a flight on Sunday night, a story the rider denied in typically forthright fashion: "I take it as a compliment that they're going to try and start shit about something that's nothing to do with my bike riding, because they've got nothing to criticise my bike riding about."

Cavendish was also criticised in the L'Equipe article by a nameless rider from another team, who claimed the Brit had shirked his communal duties while riding in the peloton – the main pack of riders - during the mountain stages. (Cycling's unwritten rule is that everyone does their bit to keep the pack going, taking their turn to set the pace at the front.)

Again, Cavendish, who admits to being "hot-headed", brushed off the accusation. "I'm in a good team and I've got to save my energy," he said. "Maybe it's because there are no doping stories and they've got to find something to write about."

He may be upsetting fellow cyclists, but no one is in any doubt about the 24-year-old’s remarkable and precocious talent. In two years he has recorded what it took Hoban eight to achieve. And L'Equipe compared him to some of the greatest names in cycling history: "To find a rival for Cavendish, one must look to the past, to Erik Zabel and his six maillots verts [the green jersey given to the points winner of the Tour]. He will easily pass 20 stage victories and could even surpass the 'Cannibal' Eddy Merckx's total of 34."

It's no wonder then that Lance Armstrong, the legend of modern cycling, has set his sights on the young Brit joining the new team he plans to start in time for the 2011 Tour. The American, who will manage the team once he's finally returned from racing, has been singing the praises of 'Cav', tipping him correctly to win the last two stages on his Twitter feed before the races. ·