Marc Cavendish at the start of this year's Tour de France?

So the original, once the fastest man in the peloton, but who has been experiencing a kind of infirmity in the field for three years?

Yes he is back.

Just a few weeks ago, the fact that the man from the Isle of Man could pedal through France again sounded like the dream of cycling romantics.

Last fall, a great sprinter career seemed to end under sad circumstances.

No form, no support in his team, hardly any prospect of first-class continued employment.

It seemed like a friendship from Patrick Lefevere, the long-time successful and controversial boss of the Deceunink-Quickstep team, to offer Cavendish another engagement for a minimum wage.

After all, they worked together from 2013 to 2015.

Cavendish once continued his passion for collecting stage wins at the Tour de France with the Belgian team.

Since his last day's victory in the Tour of France in 2016, the Briton has stood at an enormous 30. In 2008 he made a huge impression with four stage wins - on a tour that, like this one, started in Brest in Brittany.

In the summer of 2016, the great Eddy Merckx had to worry about his record of 34 tour stages won.

But the Eppstein-Barr virus and depressive moods slowed Cavendish hard.

The fact that he was allowed to ride on the biggest cycling stage again at the age of 36 caused a sensation, because Cavendish stands for a lot, but never for boredom.

The former world champion, with his legs apart, was often either a seductive figure or a fascination, but was always a topic of conversation in the peloton.

In the position of the team joker

There are two reasons for his return. On the one hand, the once self-proclaimed “fastest man on two wheels” started again this spring to accelerate his bike respectably. Deceunink-Quickstep ordered him to tour Turkey, where "no one wanted to drive because of the Corona situation," as Lefevere said. Four stage wins by Cavendish made people sit up and take notice. The Belgian team relied on Sam Bennet, the winner of the green jersey at last year's edition, for the tour. But then the Irish top sprinter brought on a knee injury that Lefevere did not believe and instead assumed fear of failure.

A dispute broke out, and the question arose with which front man the tour formation, which had been put together with a view to successful sprint decisions, should travel to the Grand Départ in Brittany. It was a perfect match for Cavendish that he was allowed to represent Bennett on the domestic Belgium tour. And the 1.75 meter small power pack collected the decisive argument for itself: a victory in the sprint against the assembled sprinter elite.

“No words can describe how I feel.

It's more than a dream to be there, ”said Cavendish.

Deceunink-Quickstep has a long tradition of employing first-class sprinters and making their fast-paced work easier for them with strong starters.

With Michael Morkov, like Cavendish 36 years old, the team has the recognized best sprint preparer in the peloton.

To sit behind the Dane, hold his rear wheel and let himself be navigated through the racing field, for Cavendish almost guarantees that he will be “released” in a good position in the final.

"I'm an asshole"

Even if he has lost top speed, thanks to good positioning he could have a say in one of the ample chances of a day's victory offered on this tour for the sprinters.

It is not always far from the supposed bike retirement to a place on the pulse of the peak of the season.

This Tuesday, the 150-kilometer flat stage between Redon and Fougéres, where he once triumphed, is expected to be another mass finish.

Especially since "Cav", as he is usually called, enters the race from the comfortable position of team joker and outsider.

“As for Mark Cavendish, expectations are not too high.

He is no longer 30 years old.

If he doesn't win, everyone will think that's normal.

If he wins, everyone will put him on a throne, ”says Lefevere.

In his fabulous times - between 2008 and 2011 alone, Cavendish won 20 tour stages - he liked to portray himself as a free radical in the cycling circus, who either went to the limit of unfairness or even beyond. “I'm an asshole,” he once said - and it will have spoken from the heart of many colleagues. Today, its presence seems to be more valued as a name and brand in the field. One of the exciting questions of this tour is whether he can still unpack the old ruthlessness, cleverness, even cunning and the power of the legs at the highest level.