Cherish Cavendish while you can, he's as good as it gets

MARK Cavendish might have a reputation for gabbling as quick as peddling but he's as good as it gets for British sport.

PRETTY IN PINK: Backed by his powerful and supportive Colombia-Highroad team, Mark Cavendish wore the pink jersey for the opening two days of the Giro d'Italia - he also won three individual stages

He's younger and faster than the rest of his rivals - and he knows it - but what's the problem with that?

Sprinters need a touch of arrogance, they need to strut and swagger.

Contesting a bunch finish is not for timid nice guys, it's for lunatics - the sort of blokes who once opened beer bottles with their eyes at student parties and think Jackass is amusing.

In the same way that goalkeepers and wicketkeepers need a touch of madness, so do sprinters.

Besides, the margin between arrogance and self-belief is as razor-thin as a pair of lyrca cycling shorts.

Cavendish timed his arrivederci from the Giro d'Italia in the same way he times his charge to a finish line - to perfection.

He won two of his last three stages and then said farewell in Florence - arguably the most beautiful stop on the centenary Giro, which rolled out of Venice a fortnight ago and arrives in Rome next Sunday.

He had nothing to prove by dragging himself over the Apennines - his palmarès does not need the addition of a successful ascent of Blockhaus, Wednesday's near vertical slog which will have a decisive outcome on the destination of the maglia rosa.

ON THE RISE: His win at the classic Milan-San Remo moved Mark Cavendish from rising star to superstar. In two-and-a-half years he has already won 39 races (Getty Images)

Better still to get back to the Isle of Man farmhouse he shares with fiancée Melissa, enjoy a few quiet days and start planning for the Tour de France.

Four stage victories last year underlined his potential.

This year he can do so much more and while the green jersey remains a longer-term goal, a win on the iconic Champs Elysees - in 2008 he quit the Tour early to concentrate on Beijing - must be his ambition.

Despite only just turning 24, Cavendish's record already stands to scrutiny with all the great sprinters of recent years.

It seems amazing that just two years ago, Britain's Roger Hammond was fearing for Cavendish's future in the sport.

"To be honest, he started the season so catastrophically that the staff were wondering what they could enter Mark for so that he could finish the race," he told French newspaper L'Equipe.

His three stage wins in Italy took his career tally to 39 - and few would bet against him notching his half-century by the time of the season finishes.

Tom Boonen - his career now stalled on 86 wins due to his own desire for self-destruction - was 24 before he notched his 50th win.

Erik Zabel was 26, Cavendish's idol Mario Cipollini was 29, the same age as Alessandro Petacchi while Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen didn't crack fifty wins until his thirties.

Cavendish is also only two wins behind Chris Boardman - Britain's most successful road race cyclist in terms of stage wins - and if maintains his winning ratio, he seems destined to rewrite the record books.

And remember Cipollini and Zabel were nearing 40 when they retired.

Cherish Cavendish will you can and remember these halcyon days for British Cycling, they'll be over before you know it and we may not see his or their like again for more than a generation.

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