At Last Cav is the Man!

It has taken him four stunning years to finally be greeted with complete, British sporting approval but by becoming world road race champion on Sunday in Copenhagen Mark Cavendish has belatedly propelled himself into the upper hierarchy.

Cav became the first British cyclist since the ill-fated Tommy Simpson back in the 1960's to be crowned world champion, and all this after he won the green jersey in the Tour de France two months' ago to become the first Brit to win any TDF jersey since Robert Millar took home the king of the mountains polka dot in 1984.

In the latest Tour Cav won 5 stages to make it a staggering 20 stages in just four Tours. I have got to know this complex young man reasonably well over the years. He can sometimes be rude, is always demanding and often gets involved in all sorts of scrapes and arguments within the peloton, but few men are more admired than the Manxman, who is the first to apologise once he has calmed down. I have seen the man cry with the emotion of just describing his races. He is an utter perfectionist and demands the very best from both himself and those around him.

For my money, despite Mo Farah's efforts at the world athletics championships, and Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke on the golf course, Cav should be the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year winner in December. He has, in little time, become one of the true greats in the history of cycling. Now just an Olympic gold medal remains and who would bet against Cav winning gold in the streets of London next summer?