Britain’s Mark Cavendish set a new record for stage wins in the Tour de France with a 35th victory on Wednesday in Saint-Vulbas. He previously shared it with legend Eddy Merckx.
Published on: 03/07/2024 – 18:08
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It was one of the soap operas of the 2024 Tour de France: would Mark Cavendish surpass Eddy Merckx’s record for victories on the Tour de France? The soap opera did not last long. The Missile de Man took victory on the 5th stage in Saint-Vulbas.
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.
🏆 HE’S DONE IT!!! @MarkCavendish 35th win in the Tour de France!!!
🏆 HE DID IT!!! @MarkCavendish wins his 35th victory in the Tour de France!!!#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/Ad1cy9dWXQ
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 3, 2024
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A long way
What a long road it has been to get here! 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.
In 2023, the “Cav” had already embarked on this quest in 2023. Having come close to his 35th victory, he had to abandon due to a broken collarbone after a fall during the 11th stage of what was to be his last Tour de France. But, driven by the ambition of holding this record from another time alone, he postponed his retirement, signing up 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.
After his victory, he was congratulated by half the peloton before falling into the arms of his wife and children.
Eddy Merckx’s opinion on Cavendish and his quest for a record? He expressed it very cynically during the Briton’s 34th victory: “You can’t compare. I did 2,800 kilometers in the lead, Cavendish did six.”
