Cavendish hits the gym with yellow jersey on his mind

The 28-year-old is the Tour de France's most prominent sprinter with 25 stage victories to his name. However, last year he won just two stages while rival Marcel Kittel claimed four wins.

Kittel and fellow German six-footer Andre Greipel will likely be Cavendish's main rivals for the first maillot jaune of the 2014 Tour, which will be awarded at the end of a first stage anticipated to end in a sprint in Harrogate - which happens to be Cavendish's mother's home town.

And the Manx Missile, who stands at 5ft 9ins and 70kg, revealed he has been doing squats and working on his core stability in order to get off to a flying start, with his low position on the bike less of an advantage than it once was.

"With the aerodynamic advancements in the bikes and the helmets now those big strong guys, like Griepel and Kittel, are getting a bigger advantage than I am, percentage-wise, compared to their body mass," said Cavendish, who has never worn the yellow jersey.

"I thought I'd better get a bit stronger because my aerodynamic ability is not going to help me as much as it used to.

"I'll do everything I can to make it happen."