EThe Isle of Man surpasses Eddy Merckx’s 34 victories and achieves the goal for which he postponed his retirement
MADRID, 3 (EUROPA PRESS)
British cyclist Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) won the fifth stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, contested between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint Vulbas over 177.4 kilometers, and becomes living history of the French round by adding his 35th stage victory, surpassing the record that he shared with the legend Eddy Merckx since 2021.
Cavendish, who has postponed his retirement from professional cycling until at least the end of the season, had in mind to compete in the Tour de France to achieve this record, which he was close to achieving in 2023. Then, he was on the verge of achieving it, but on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, he won, in a clean and clear manner, a sprint with the best of the moment, to make history with this record.
The Isle of Man rider, in his fifteenth Tour de France, may have surprised many, but not himself, as he had every stage of this 111th edition of the ‘Grande Boucle’ in red and in capital letters to achieve what he won on Wednesday: stage 35 in the French round straight to his palmares and, with it, the record that he no longer has to share with Merckx and that he will be able to enjoy alone in the coming years.
To achieve this record and go down in the golden books of the Tour de France, the Douglas native had to be patient because, from the start, he was blocked and in a bad position to have a chance of winning. But, with the experience of his 39 years and so many sprints contested, he gradually made his way and with prodigious legs ready for the feat he went from right to left and, with free ground, sprinted to victory.
Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team), another ‘old dog’ who saw the Briton plugged in, tried to take his wheel but in the end lost it and finished eleventh. Despite being the big favourite, second was the Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who tried to tie down the Man de Man but also did not have the legs to avoid this historic day, as did Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) and Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) who completed the ‘Top 5’.
The stage, which was wet at many points, was previously marked by a long but harmless breakaway formed by the French duo of Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ) and Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), who were finally caught 36 kilometres from the finish, on the first slopes of the Côte de Lhuis (4th), the last small obstacle of the day.
There were no massive crashes, but there were several. Alexander Kristoff was third, but had to do a good time trial after falling more than 20 kilometres from the finish. Frenchman Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) also crashed in a double hairpin turn with a central island, and even leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) had a scare that he was able to deal with.
No changes to the general classification, only the points classification has changed, with Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen handing over the green jersey to stage winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) in this Tour, with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) second after also crashing on this stage, already in the final fight for victory. On Thursday, the sixth stage – from Mâcon to Dijon over 163.5 kilometres – will be another opportunity for a breakaway or a bunch sprint.
–RANKINGS.
-Stage.
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/Astana Qazaqstan Team) 4:08:46.
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL/Alpecin-Deceuninck) mt
3. Alexander Kristoff (NOR/Uno-X Mobility) m.t.
4. Arnaud De Lie (BEL/Lotto Dstny) m.t.
5. Fabio Jakobsen (NED/Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) m.t.
-General.
1. Tadej Pogacar (SVN/UAE Team Emirates) 23:15:24.
2. Remco Evenepoel (BEL/Soudal Quick-Step) at 45.
3. Jonas Vingegaard (DIN/Team Visma | Lease a Bike) 50.
4. JUAN AYUSO (ESP/UAE Team Emirates) 1:10.
5. Primoz Roglic (SVN/Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) 1:14.
…//…
6. CARLOS RODRÍGUEZ (ESP/INEOS Grenadiers) 1:16.
7. MIKEL LANDA (ESP/Soudal Quick-Step) 1:32.
2024-07-03 15:46:48
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