Described as "unbeatable" and "the best" by many of cycling's luminaries ahead of his third Tour de France, Mark Cavendish will begin his bid for the fabled green jersey in Monaco on Saturday.

While the likes of Alberto Contador and his Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong will be bidding for the yellow jersey (the maillot jaune) awarded to the overall race leader, Cavendish is targeting a haul of stage wins which could deliver the points classification crown and a first Tour jersey for Britain since the solitary success 25 years ago, when Scotland's Robert Millar won the 1984 King of the Mountains title.

But the Manxman, who won four Tour stages in 2008, is unlikely to make an impression at the top of the leaderboard in the prologue on Saturday afternoon, with fellow Britons David Millar and Bradley Wiggins, who both ride for Garmin-Slipstream more likely to challenge at the top of the leaderboard.

Cavendish is not the greatest time-trial rider, the undulating 15.5-kilometre course around the Principality is another factor against the 24-year-old Team Columbia-HTC sprinter.

However, having equalled Chris Boardman's British record of 41 professional in last month's Tour of Switzerland, Cavendish is the leading contender of the three British riders in the field.

But with 10 of the 21 stages rated flat, Cavendish has an abundance of opportunities to prove his standing as the world's leading sprinter.

"He's the best," Cavendish's team-mate George Hincapie said.

Hincapie, who will act as a bodyguard for Cavendish throughout the 21-stage, 3,500km, six-country Tour, which finishes in Paris on Sunday July 26, should know.

The 36-year-old, entering his 14th Tour, has ended up on the winning team on eight occasions, seven with Armstrong, who returns on Saturday for the first time since 2005, while also triumphing with Contador, who many predict will regain the title he won in 2007.

"I think he's going to be focusing on winning stages - and I think the green jersey, if he has a really successful Tour, will come just by doing that," added the American.