In a historic moment for cycling, Mark Cavendish has broken the record for the most Tour de France stage wins with his 35th victory in the race. The British rider surpassed the legendary Eddy Merckx with a sensational sprint finish in Saint Vulbas during what is expected to be his final Tour. After bursting clear in a dramatic finale to stage five, the 39-year-old raised his arms in celebration as he crossed the line victorious, before being embraced by his team.
Cavendish had previously held the joint record with Belgian Merckx since winning his 34th stage in 2021. However, last year’s race was supposed to be his final Tour, after being pipped to a record-breaking victory by Jasper Philipsen and suffering a race-ending crash on stage eight. Despite this setback, Cavendish delayed his retirement plans by one more year and returned to the Belgian Quick Step team in 2021 where he won four stages.
Suffering from illness, injury, and depression, Cavendish feared his career was at an end after failing to win a single race in 2019 and 2020. However, he joined Kazakhstan’s Astana team for 2023 after being left out of the 2022 Tour and seemingly out of contract at the end of that year. Determined to achieve his dream of ending his career with the outright Tour stage record, he refused to let his career end after last year’s crash.
Cavendish, already regarded as the best sprinter of all time, has earned the prize he desperately sought with his famous victory in Saint Vulbas. The Manx Missile achieved the record-breaking moment that has long been his destiny, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time
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