He's said similar things to me, most memorably the line predicting Hushovd might have him disqualified for eating the wrong cereal bar in Paris.

I winced a bit at that line, on the inside at least. Cavendish's anger and frustration is understandable but I wonder if someone should quietly advise him to forget it now.

Those of us in the media have to take some responsibility, of course. We're always looking for the soundbite and Cavendish often obliges.

He's not afraid to speak his mind even if it means upsetting people and that has to be respected. But you need friends in the peloton if you're going to have a long career in cycling.

Hushovd is a decent man, has ridden plenty of Tours and funnily enough is not short of friends among his fellow riders. You can argue it was opportunistic of him to complain after Saturday's stage but had the boot been on the other foot, I'm pretty sure Cav would have done exactly the same.

Trying to paint Hushovd as a Machievellian villain in all of this seems a bit over the top. And I don't really buy this argument that the barriers blocked Hushovd. Perhaps in years to come Cav will admit there was a racing infringement in that sprint in Besancon.

Where Cavendish can have grounds for complaint is in the degree of punishment. The Tour authorities seem to punish riders at will and at random over this kind of thing.

Which is why it's useful to have friends in high places, too. But Cav isn't a politician. He won't avoid upsetting anyone at the expense of speaking his mind.

Let's remember that Cav has got a long and very successful career ahead of him. If he won five stages and the green jersey on the Tour this year, where could he go from there? The best thing he can do is let Sunday’s sprint on the Champs-Elysees speak for itself.

A quick mention for today's Stage 16: I think will be a day for a successful breakaway. The long descent at the finish should neutralise any attempt from the GC guys to attack, so I'd expect the likes of Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins to bide their time today and play it safe.

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