(Coccaglio) Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish announced on Monday that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the season, during which he could notably set a new mark for the number of career stage victories in the Tour of France.
The Briton, who is part of the Kazakh team Astana, celebrated his 38e birthday Sunday.
Cavendish confirmed his decision on the final rest day of the Giro d’Italia, where he is trying to flesh out his harvest of 53 career stage wins in major cycling events.
“I have loved every kilometer covered in this race so far, so I believe it is a good time to say that this will be my last Giro d’Italia and that 2023 will be my last season as a professional cyclist”, evoked Cavendish.
The veteran has had his share of troubles this season at the Giro d’Italia, which has been marked by numerous bouts of rain and very difficult racing conditions.
Two of his attempts to sign an 18e stage victory in the sprint at the Giro were sabotaged by late crashes. He also finished third in the 11e stage last week.
Two other stages could be played in a sprint: the 17escheduled for Wednesday, and the last, which will culminate in Rome on Sunday.
Cavendish will also be looking to top the mark for the most stage wins at the Tour de France, which gets under way in July. Cavendish equaled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins on the Grande Boucle in 2021, but was left out by his team, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, the following year — despite the fact that he had just won his second British Championship title.
In addition to his major event exploits, Cavendish triumphed at the 2011 World Championships and won silver in the omnium at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.