Cavendish the 'best in world' TOUR DE FRANCE: Team-mate's praise for top British rider.

Byline: Nick Davis 

GEORGE Hincapie, the man who helped Lance Armstrong to all of his record seven wins, hopes the Tour de France will end in tears for his Team Columbia-HTC colleague Mark Cavendish.

Hincapie, who turned 36 this week, was a crucial member of the US Postal and Discovery Channel teams which delivered seven straight successes for Armstrong between 1999 and 2005 and also helped this year's favourite Alberto Contador to claim the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysees in 2007.

Cavendish won four stages in the 2008 Tour - unprecedented for a British rider - and is making his third start in cycling's most prestigious race as many people's favourite for the points competition.

"I think he's going to be focusing on winning stages - and I think the green jersey, if he has a really successful Tour, will come just by doing that," said Hincapie, who will begin his 14th Tour in Monaco tomorrow.

Cavendish is a passionate - some would say combustible - character who is well known to show his emotion in victory, most notably after triumphing at the 298-kilometres Milan-San Remo in March when he became only the second Briton to win a classic behind Tom Simpson.

That result confounded many of the Briton's doubters - and Hincapie, who led Cavendish into the final kilometre and a phenomenal race to the line which he won by the width of his front wheel, ranks the achievement as among his best as a profes-sional. "Helping him win San Remo was right up there for me with helping Lance win the Tour de France," the American added.

"It was something that nobody expected him to do and I know that I played a very crucial role in helping him win.

"I just really appreciate those moments, being able to help riders achieve their dreams."

Hincapie, who first rode in cycling's most prestigious race in 1996, shares the widely-held view that Cavendish is the world's top sprinter and believes the 24-year-old Manxman shares similar personality traits to Armstrong.

"He's the best," said Hincapie, who will act as a bodyguard for Cavendish throughout the 21 stage, 3,500kilometre, six-country Tour, which finishes in Paris on Sunday July 26.

"He's won pretty much a stage in every stage race this year, but he's not only a sprinter, he's very strong - people haven't been able to see and appreciate that yet.

"Being on his team, I know that he's much more than just a sprinter; he's a very powerful rider. I think he's got a great shot at winning several stages this year in the Tour."

* Charles Wegelius will be the fourth Briton to take part in this year's Tour after being called up by the Silence-Lotto team as a replacement for Dutchman Thomas Dekker.

Dekker was excluded after a negative dope test he gave in December 2007 was re-examined and he tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO.

The 31-year-old joins fellow Britons Mark Cavendish, David Millar and Bradley Wiggins on the start line.

CAPTION(S):

Fierce rivalry: American George Hincapie.