MARK CAVENDISH’S 12 YEARS AT THE TOUR

2007 STAGE WINS: 0

Cavendish makes his Tour debut at the age of 22 for T!Mobile. He "inds the going rough, and early crashes thwart his ambitions. He pulls out on stage 8, his best placing ninth.

2008 STAGE WINS: 4

Takes a few days to get up and running but takes four stages, starting on stage 5. He gets through the Pyrenees but pulls out before the Alps, to prepare for the Beijing Olympics.

2009 STAGE WINS: 6

His best-ever Tour. Starts winning early, on stage 2, then adds "ive more wins. The highlight is the middle mountain stage to Aubenas, capped by a one-two with Mark Renshaw in Paris.

2010 STAGE WINS: 5

A slow start has tongues wagging among Tour followers, but he takes an emotional irst stage win on day six. Subsequently wins every time he is sprinting for irst place.

2011 STAGE WINS: 5

Another quintet of wins, plus the green jersey in Paris. For the irst time, he is outsprinted in a head-to-head for irst place, by André Greipel in Carmaux, but is otherwise unbeatable.

2012 STAGE WINS: 3

Rides in the rainbow jersey for Team Sky, but the team’s GC aims mean his sprinting is not a priority. Still takes three stage wins, including two in the last three days.

2013 STAGE WINS: 2

A serious rival appears in the form of Marcel Kittel, who wins four stages. Cavendish wins two, including a spectacular crosswind ambush in Saint-Amand-Montrond.

2014 STAGE WINS: 0

Draws a blank at the Tour for the irst time since 2007. Hardly surprising, since he crashed out on the opening stage. In his absence, Kittel takes another four wins.

2015 STAGE WINS: 1

Another year, another dominant German. This time Greipel is the best at the Tour, taking four wins. Cavendish wins once, in Fougères at the end of the irst week.

2016 STAGE WINS: 4

Cavendish roars back into contention, winning stage 1 and taking his irst ever yellow jersey, then another three stages by the Alps. Pulls out to focus on his bid for Olympic glory.

2017 STAGE WINS: 0

Behind in his preparation owing to Epstein-Barr, Cavendish hopes to ride into form through the Tour. But he is crashed out in an incident involving Peter Sagan in Vittel on stage 4.

2018 STAGE WINS: 0

Cavendish is not at peak form after another spring hit by Epstein-Barr. His best inish is eighth on stage 8, before he is eliminated, along with many sprinters, in the Alps.