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Revived Cavendish makes it three in a row

Ian ParkerAAP
In Turkey, Mark Cavendish has won three straight race stages for the first time in eight years.
Camera IconIn Turkey, Mark Cavendish has won three straight race stages for the first time in eight years. Credit: EPA

Mark Cavendish has made it three stage wins in a row as his outstanding week at the Tour of Turkey reached new heights.

Having waited three years for the victory that finally came on Monday, the 35-year-old British superstar is making it look just like the old days.

The man who was once the world's top road race sprinter again proved himself to be the quickest man in this race in a messy sprint on Wednesday that saw several riders hit the deck in Kemer.

Cavendish waited for his moment and recognised that Jasper Philipsen had gone too early before powering around the Belgian to win the 184km stage from Alanya.

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In doing so, Cavendish delivered the 800th victory in the history of the Deceuninck-QuickStep team who handed him a career lifeline this season.

He made it three stages in a row for the first time since he took four at the Tour of Qatar in 2013, when he was with the same team in a previous incarnation as OmegaPharma-QuickStep.

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There will surely be no fourth on Thursday as the mountains loom - Cavendish will also expect to lose the leader's jersey on the road to Elmali - but that is of little concern.

"It's nice," he said. "It's irrelevant how many in a row it is, it's just nice to win again."

Cavendish is ignoring questions about what his victories this week might mean in terms of his race programme for the rest of the season, determined simply to enjoy moments many thought might not come again.

Cavendish won four stages of this race back in 2014 - he is now one behind Andre Greipel's record of 11 victories in Turkey - but said he could not compare his form now with then.

"I've not got a clue because I never had time off then," he said. "I won back in Alanya back in those days and I won here too but in all honesty I wouldn't know.

"These are my first wins back so it's hard to say about any form. We're not playing Cycling Manager where you can see the numbers. It's professional cycling."

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