On the face of it, an injury-hit 2014 could be seen as a disappointing year for Mark Cavendish – not least because of the Manx Missile’s failure to pick up a Grand Tour stage win for the first time since his maiden victory at the Giro d’Italia in 2008.

However, Cavendish still picked up 11 victories during the year, including WorldTour victories at Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour de Suisse, and the 29-year-old’s build-up to the Tour de France was particularly impressive, as he stormed to four stage wins at the Tour of Turkey and two at the Tour of California – spending time in the the leaders’ jersey at both.

In Turkey, Cavendish engaged in a series of intriguing battles with Elia Viviani, with Cav claiming four wins to the Team Sky-bound Italian’s two.

After Cavendish’s crash on stage one of the Tour de France ruled him out of the rest of the race and the CommonwealthGames, he returned to winning ways with two stages at the Tour du Poitou-Charantes.

Another crash at the Tour of Britain saw Kittel get the better of the Manxman at end the season – but Mark Cavendish will undoubtedly be back strong next year.

Mark Cavendish in 2014

Race wins: 11
Grand Tour stage wins: none
Champagne moment: Storming to victory on stage six of Tirreno-Adriatico as his much-maligned sprint train clicked perfectly into gear for the first time in the season.