Mark Cavendish said he will pair up with hometown hero Iljo Caisse in the Ghent Six Day starting Tuesday, hoping to finish strong and win the overall.

Cavendish is eager to compete in what he calls "the Tour de France of track cycling" for the first time in 2014 with Caisse and hopes to finish well.

"It's always special to come here to 't Kuipke (velodrome) in Ghent. For me it's special because it's the Tour de France of track cycling," Cavendish told Sporza.

"It's even more special to ride with the king [Caisse] again. When I was a kid I dreamed of running here. I never got to see it until I rode in the UIV Cup as an amateur.

Cavendish has had a tough few seasons, suffering from the Epstein-Barr virus, but he showed that he is recovering well by finishing second with partner Owain Doull at the London Six Day last month.

"I think I'm in good shape. I'm happy with myself right now. I've been training for this."

"If it's a really hard season, I need a break and it's hard to run track. I can continue on the road until next year. I would rather race than train and I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to run in Ghent."

Cavendish arrived in Belgium last Thursday to reacquaint himself with the tight 166m course in Ghent, which he and Bradley Wiggins won in 2016.

"It's different to run on a 166m track. That's why I came to Belgium early.

"You have to be professional. Even when I'm in the best shape of my life, the first two nights are always the same ....... It's mental fatigue and stress, and it's more exhausting than the actual legs, trying to process information so quickly that you're doing laps in nine seconds. There's so much going on on the course that by the end of the night you just want to sleep."

"I'm always tired," said one of the participants, "and I'm always tired.

The last time Cavendish competed in the Ghent Six Day with Caisse, they finished second behind Jasper de Baiste and Kenny de Ketele. Cavendish brushed off suggestions that they wanted revenge for this loss.

"At the end of the day, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to win. We will do our best. For me, this year is the strongest combination I have seen in Ghent in a long time. Usually only two or three teams can win, but this will be a much bigger battle than a four-team championship. It won't be easy, but we are certainly not here just to ride around."