Manxman Mark Cavendish is being hailed the fastest sprinter in the world.

He triumphed on stage eight of the Tour De France today (Saturday) – his second stage success in just four days with an outstanding display of power in the driving rain.

In doing so, he became only the second British rider to win two stages of the Tour de France in the same year - Barry Hoban was the other in 1973.

Cavendish praised his team after the success with Team Columbia team-mate Gerald Ciolek in second.

The Manxman's team-mate, Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg, continues to hold the yellow jersey.

‘To hold on to the yellow jersey and get a one-two finish; it does not get any better,’ said the 23-year-old as he again backed up his claim to be the fastest man in the world over 200m, coming from several bike lengths back to sprint clear, even having the time and space to ease up as he crossed the line.

Head of Performance for the Manx cycling team Gary Hinds said Cavendish will want to continue in the Tour, while having one eye on the Beijing Olympics (audio file attached):