Green jersey rule changes favour Mark Cavendish

Changes in the Tour de France points classification next year should help the world's leading sprinter Mark Cavendish win a green jersey for the first time.

The Briton, who has won 15 stages in the world's greatest cycling race, did not finish in 2008. He was pipped for the green jersey awarded to the top sprinter by Norway's Thor Hushovd in 2009 and by Italian Alessandor Petacchi this year.

Both Hushovd and Petacchi snatched valuable points in the multiple intermediate sprints peppering the stages while Cavendish focused solely on the final sprints.

However, from next year there will be only one intermediate sprint on each stage yielding points to 15 riders instead of three.  

"Fifteen stage wins but no green jersey for Cavendish, it's not very logical," Tour director Christian Prudhomme told reporters. "But you can't win the green jersey if you don''t go for this intermediate sprint."   

Cavendish, who was attending the 2011 Tour presentation ceremony, said he had not yet worked out how the changes would affect the race.                                           

"I have not figured out a strategy yet as I just heard," he told reporters.