Seeing Cavendish operate alone is amazing viewing, the way he pops up in the right place just beggars belief, but I was watching it yesterday wondering where the appeal was of going to Sky in the first place. Obviously it's great being part of a team that's going for Yellow, as he keeps saying, but he could easily have had a team built around him, like before, instead of being there to effectively get what he can on his own.

Maybe people with more cycling experience can see it (I've got very little). Was it a trade-off for the Olympics? What happens after the Olympics, for eg at next year's Tour?

I can't get my head round it. He's gone from being the leader of a team at the top of his game to being a soloist, and yet he seems very happy with the arrangement.