Yep, it's kind of strange to experience this because I have had the feeling that the quality in cycling has increased quite noticeably during the last three years, all over the board; puncheurs, classic riders, sprinters, climbers, time trialists.
Now suddenly to see so many sprinters falling off is quite odd; I suppose it started with the accident in Poland that took out two of the very best, but Ackermann, Gaviria and Viviani are mere shadows of their former selves, while Bennett and Ewan are out for different reasons. That's not to say that Cavendish hasn't obviously improved massively the past few months but I would hesitate to suddenly call him the best sprinter in the world and I think he benefits from the apparent drop-off in general sprinting level. But then again, you can only beat the riders you're up against.