One of the reasons why the sprint looked a bit like a set piece is the phenomenal teamwork by Quickstep, they simply have the perfect team to put Cavandish in the right spot to be able to win and they have done it over and over again. Cavandish has very good form right now and so he is able to make his wins look relatively easy. Another factor is that several of his strongest rivals are no longer in the race, Caleb Ewen for example