ITV Sport Tour de France reporter Ned Boulting sat down with Team Sky sprinter Mark Cavendish to talk about his background and discover what the Manx Missile's targets are during the three weeks of racing this year.

The 27-year-old reflected, "The Isle of Man is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I love it. It's hilly, windy and rainy so, if you're cycling, it means you like cycling. It's the national sport there."

In terms of the overall Tour target, the 2011 world champion revealed that getting Bradley Wiggins on the top step of the podium in Paris is the main thrust of Team Sky for 2012.

He added, "The onus isn't on me to bring home the bacon. I will be part of a formidable line-up. British sponsor, British team and British rider, who is favourite to win yellow in Paris. It's an exciting opportunity to be part of that.

"The pinnacle of cycling is the yellow jersey. It is the most iconic thing you can do. Brad has been working hard towards it and has an incredible group of guys around him.

"Hopefully I will win a stage, even though I will not be able to dominate like I have in the past."

Watch the Tour de France live on ITV4 and ITV.com from Saturday 30th June.

Follow ITV Cycling on Twitter