HTC-Highroad sprinter Mark Cavendish believes the structure of this year's race has been changed to try and stop the dominance of him and his team in the bunch sprints.
The Isle of Man rider powered to the 16th Tour de France stage win of his career on Stage 5 of the 2011 race, shrugging off the absence of his important lead out men to deny Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) on the line.
"What the Tour organisers have done is to make it hard for a bunch sprint because we dominated last year," Cavendish said.
"They have done that because we've the best team. They have tried to make it a handicap, so if we win, it's not because we’re lucky, it's because we're good.
"That was a hard stage, not just the last 2km, but my team-mates were incredible.
"I don't think you should handicap us because we come here with the best preparation," Cavendish told ITV4's Ned Boulting following his superb sprint win in Cap Frehel.
"Did you see the intermediate today?" Cavendish asked, referring to the intermediate sprint in which he was blocked by fellow sprinters Tom Boonen and Jose Joaquin Rojas - both of whom were later disqualified from the sprint.
"The door shut on me, again, consistency is all I ask for."
Follow ITV Cycling on Twitter