Friday 8 July 2016 06:04, UK
Mark Cavendish believes his return to track cycling has been key to his superb sprinting form at the Tour de France.
The 31-year-old Manxman claimed the 29th Tour stage win of his career and third of this year's race by beating Marcel Kittel on stage six in Montauban.
There had been fears he would not be competitive in sprints at the Tour due to the fact he has spent much of the season training on the track in preparation for riding in the omnium at next month's Olympic Games.
But Rolf Aldag, who is Dimension Data's performance manager, thinks it has had the opposite effect and Cavendish agrees.
"Today I sprinted like in the old days," Cavendish said. "I stayed safe in the fast, long run-in. It was slightly downhill. I needed to do the right thing.
"I agree with Rolf Aldag when he says that my return to the track has helped me take the split-second decisions.
"He has been part of my teams' staff almost my entire career. He listens to me, solves the problems. He knows how it works. He knows how to support someone. Him and [sports director] Roger Hammond are the most formidable managers to make decisions.
"My wins don't happen like that. They come from a plan we get each day."
Cavendish also triumphed on stages one and three of this year's race is now second on the all-time list of Tour stage winners, five behind Eddy Merckx's record of 34 and one ahead of third-placed Bernard Hinault.
He added: "Only one stage victory at the Tour de France makes a career or a season, so I'm obviously happy with three this year and if I win only one more by the end of my career, I'll be happy as well."
Cavendish's victory also took him back to the top of the points classification, 22 points ahead of second-placed Kittel and 29 points ahead of third-placed Peter Sagan.
However, he anticipates he will have to hand the green jersey back to Sagan as early as this weekend's stages in the Pyrenees.
He said: "I'm glad to wear the green jersey today, but when we hit the mountains, there is no way I will beat Peter Sagan. Nobody can. He is just on another level."
The Tour continues on Friday with the first of three stages in the Pyrenees, a 162.5km ride from L'Isle-Jourdain to Lac de Payolle. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the stage with our live blog from 1pm BST.
