Britain’s Mark Cavendish made history on Wednesday by setting a new record for stage wins in the Tour de France with 35e success in Saint-Vulbas.
The 39-year-old Astana sprinter has one more victory than the great Eddy Merckx, five-time winner of the Tour among other exploits, with whom he shared the record until now.
He won ahead of the Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin) and the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) at the end of a heated sprint marked by a fall in the final meters.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retains the yellow jersey at the end of this transitional day without any interest for the general classification.
The “Cav”, who won the Tour for the first time sixteen years ago, had not raised his arms there since his victory in Carcassonne in 2021.
After his victory, he was congratulated by half the peloton before falling into the arms of his wife and children.
“My family arrived only yesterday. It’s incredible timing. It’s a victory not only for me but for all the people who follow me,” he rejoiced.
On the podium, the emotion was at its peak when he went to collect the winner’s bouquet accompanied by his four children, including the youngest, crying in his arms, in the din of Saint-Vulbas.
Tenacity
He had to withdraw last year due to a broken collarbone after a fall during the 11th round.e stage of what was to be his last Tour de France.
But, driven by the ambition of holding this old record alone, he postponed his retirement, signing on for another year under the colours of his Kazakh team.
The 2011 world champion suffered badly during the difficult first stages in Italy, to the point of vomiting on his bike. But the sprinter from the Isle of Man held on to make history on Wednesday in Ain.
“I can hardly believe it. When I left it was really a big gamble to be there, on the Tour de France. We bet that we could win at least one stage victory. It’s a big gamble on the part of Alexandre Vinokourov, my boss, the boss of my team,” admitted the British sprinter at the finish.
“The guys improvised well and put me in a great position, I was able to win,” commented the Astana rider.
“Everyone gave their all, it’s so many little details that add up to get here. One step can make a whole career and I’ve always needed to win one more,” he added.
A new chance of victory will present itself on Thursday in Dijon for the sprinter from the Isle of Man.
“We’re going to try, every sprint we have the opportunity to go to, we’re going to go. It’s the Tour de France after all. It’s not just the biggest cycling race in the world, it’s the biggest sporting event in the world for me,” he concluded.
“To see him win here is really great. He does everything perfectly, he’s almost 40 years old and he even has the little stage [collée] on the handlebars as if it were his first Tour de France,” applauded the Belgian Arnaud de Lie, young rival.
“Total dedication”
The Briton’s trajectory in this Tour de France is a reflection of his career. Because if Cavendish has won a lot – 165 victories in total – he has also often fallen, sometimes very low, when he experienced the pangs of depression or the Epstein-Barr virus.
But he always got back up, impressing those around him with his stubbornness.
“I’ve seen him show total dedication. I don’t know how many days he’s spent with his family this year, but I know it’s not many,” commented, very moved, his historic pilot fish Mark Renshaw, reconverted to the management of Astana.
Impressed by the veteran’s determination, the Kazakh team wanted to do things right this winter by attracting the experienced Dane Michael Morkov to guide Cavendish through the minefield of team sprints.
“I had a feeling this morning, I saw him nervous, excited,” Markov said. “That he wins is just incredible. That’s why I came to Astana. I’m very proud to be part of this adventure.”