World champion Mark Cavendish says becoming a father has given him extra motivation to compete for the Tour de France green jersey and Olympic gold this summer.
Talking exclusively to ITV.com/tour, Cavendish also says that he has been planning his assault on this year's race since the route announcement last October - and explains how proud he will be to wear the world champion's jersey when riding the Tour with Team Sky this year.
Cavendish's daughter Delilah Grace was born on 3rd April, and he said: "I've got lucky ... she's good as gold - she sleeps, she doesn't cry ... She's beautiful, it's incredible, it gives a whole new meaning to life."
Asked if the birth of his daughter has given him extra motivation to succeed on the road, Cavendish added: "Absolutely. Every time I wake up, I sit down, I want to cuddle her but I think I've got to give her the best future she can have, so I get out on the bike no matter the weather, no matter how I'm feeling."
There are nine stages classified as flat in this year's Tour de France. Cavendish says he has been planning since the route announcement last year.
"In October I was in Paris, at the unveiling and from there you kind of sit down and you can plan, what I'm doing, and what's the team's doing around that."
Cavendish will wear the world champion's jersey at the Tour and he said: "It's brilliant ... I've always kind of been the only British rider in the team. So to be in a home team, the biggest team in cycling right now, with the two biggest contentions for jerseys, I think it's all promising. No-one would have thought that of Great Britain a few years ago.
"To have our own team that we can get behind, and ride, to do that, it's going to be a big thing for me. To be world champion, riding with the British champion, in a British team, at the Tour de France. It couldn't be better for someone as patriotic as me."
Can Team Sky challenge for the yellow jersey and the green jersey?
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was possible," Cavendish said. "At the end of the day I want to be part of a successful team. I'm not in the team to ride for me, I want to be part of something successful. If we can have a crack at yellow and green, it's a big honour to be part of that. I believe we've got the best bike riders in the world capable of making that happen."
Mark Cavendish was talking at the launch of a three-year partnership between Team Sky and Jaguar
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