It was a special day for Cavendish today as his third win in this year's Giro was also his career victory number 100. After harsh criticism of his team's ability to deliver him to the line in the early part of the season, the Manxman was full of praise of today's support and said that the win was more special due to the team's efforts than to anything else.

Today's 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia was always expected to end in a mass sprint but a strong breakaway and torrential rain almost destroyed the plans of the race's fast men. The 5 early escapees proved much more difficult to catch than most had expected and it was most up to the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team of favourite Mark Cavendish to do the work.

The team managed to bring it back together with just 500m to go and moments later Gert Steegmans gave his British sprinter the perfect lead-out. Being delivered in the perfect position there was never any doubt as to who was going to win the race.

The win was a milestone for the Manxman as it was the 100th of his rather short career. At the same time it was a formidable way for the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team to silence their critics which had knocked the team for being unable to support their sprinter as the chase duties inside the final 10km were almost purely left to the Belgian team.

Mark Cavendish was keen to point out that the significance of the win was not as much due to it being number 100th as it was due to the hard effort that had laid the foundations.

"It was incredible," he said. "We left it until right at the end. The break had a minute with 10km to go. That's hard to pull back on a circuit in the rain. Cannondale came to the front but it was more left to my men. Young Julien Vermote pulled and pulled until his legs couldn't come around anymore. Matteo Trentin normally would come to the front with about 1km to go, but with 2.5km to go he took over and just rode and rode. It wasn't easy as we were close to not catching the break."

"Gert Steegmans could have gone and left me in no man's land, but he waited and waited. I was actually stressing a bit to be honest. But I'm so happy, my 100th win and what a way to do it with the guys. I'm so proud."

The win was a complicated one not only because of the late catch of the breakaway but also because of the wind direction.

"I knew the wind was coming from the left, but knew we had to start the sprint from the left because we caught the break," Cavendish said. "So I just had to drift right to hopefully get the guys coming in the wind on the left. I was happy because I didn't sense anybody at all. I didn't want to celebrate though, because of the conditions. So, I just lifted one hand."

The win was made even more significant by the fact that all 8 teammates contributed at some point in the race.

"I'm happy that I could do it here at the Giro d'Italia, but more than the fact I've won here, I'm proud of how we did it," he continued. "We came here with the intentions of trying to win every sprint. We haven't just won every sprint, we've won it quite convincingly. We controlled the peloton from start to finish today, in quite horrid conditions actually. The real experienced guys like Gert or Vermote, they just rode out of their skins. The guys went longer than what I thought was possible. From (Gianluca, ed.) Brambilla and Serge (Pauwels, ed.) riding on the front, to (Michal, ed.) Golas, (Iljo, ed.) Keisse, and also (Jerome, ed.) Pineau bringing back a breakaway. It looks difficult to bring back when other teams don't want to do it."

"Vermote rode at the end for about 5km, and then there was Matteo Trentin and Gert Steegmans really controlling the final. It could have been easy to get carried away and leave me alone too soon, but they didn't do that today. They really rode with their heads, and also with their hearts, the whole team. They really did something special today, each and every one of them. So, that's what has made me proud of this Giro more than the actual wins. It was really the best scenario I could have dreamed of."

Cavendish has always been one to emphasize the history of cycling and the greatness of past victories and so he admitted that it was special to be part of the "Club 100".

“Normally, these records are not so meaningful, but this one is special," he said. "It isn’t easy to win 100 races. I’ve been looking forward to this one. It’s good to do it at the Giro, and it’s good to do it the way we did it, because my team-mates rode out of their skin from the start of the stage to the finish. The guys were incredible, every single one of them, and that makes it even more special.”

There is a big difference between the young British sprinter who took his first grand tour win in the 2008 edition of the Giro and today's world star. When he took that first win in Catanzaro-Lungomare, it was regarded as a huge accomplishment while everybody expects him to come out triumphant today.

“Today, if I do anything except win, it is regarded as losing," he said. "That’s how things have changed. I no longer win races, I lose them. That changes my perception of things and it changes my team’s perception of things. But I guess it’s part of parcel of success.”

Cavendish could get his next possibility already in tomorrow's 13th stage. The long 254km route is mostly flat but has some smaller climbs in the end and there is little doubt that some of his rival sprinters have marked this one as a possibility to contest a sprint without the Manxman. Cavendish will have to dig deep to stay in touch on the final slopes.

Starting at 14.15 you can follow the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live.