After a dramatic sprint finish, Sir Mark Cavendish made history on Wednesday as he broke the Tour de France stage wins record, claiming his 35th victory in Saint Vulbas.
Cavendish came off the wheel of Fabio Jakobsen in the finale and held off Jasper Philipsen to lead the pack over the line, where he was congratulated by his team, peers and his family.
‘I’m in a little bit of disbelief,’ he mustered, with a nod to his team, Astana-Qazaqstan. ‘You have to go all-in and we’ve done it and worked it exactly how we wanted to do, how we built the team, the equipment, every little detail has been put towards today.’
Cavendish’s 35th stage victory took him past the legendary Eddy Merckx, with the Brit having been level with him since his 34th stage win in 2021.
It was a triumph long in the making, the 39-year-old staging a defiant comeback after announcing his retirement in May last year following an extended period marred by injury, illness and depression.
Mark Cavendish has broken the Tour de France stage wins record as he took his 35th victory
At last! Mark Cavendish makes history as he crosses the line in Saint Vulbas on Wednesday
Cavendish burst clear at the end of stage five with a sensational sprint finish in Saint Vulbas
Mark Cavendish celebrates with his teammate after winning stage 5 and his 35th stage win to break the record for more stage wins in history
Mark’s wife, Peta, and children react as the British sprinter secures his 35th stage win
Cavendish’s 35th stage victory took him past the legendary Eddy Merckx, with the Brit having been level with him since his 34th stage win in 2021
Speaking after his momentous triumph, Cavendish said: ‘I’m in a little bit of disbelief.
‘Astana put a big gamble on this year to make sure we’re good here at the Tour, my boss has done it.
‘It’s a big gamble to come here to try to win at least one stage, a big gamble for my boss Alexander Vinokourov, a big thing to do, it shows he’s an ex-bike rider, somebody who knows what the Tour de France is.’
The Briton, who postponed his retirement by a year after crashing out of the Tour last season, was in a class of his own in a nervy finale after 177km from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to beat Belgian Jasper Philipsen and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff second and third.
Cavendish’s Astana-Qazaqstan bossed the front of the peloton for much of the final 30km but in the finale the Manxman used his years of experience of surf the wheels before powering clear of his rivals.
He left behind his lead-out man Michael Morkov and moved behind Philipsen and then Jakobsen, before spying space on the left-hand side of the road and bursting clear.
Cavendish crossed the finish line with his arms raised before being joined by his family to celebrate the long-anticipated win.
Wednesday’s victory takes the cyclist to 35 stage wins – putting him clear of Eddy Merckx’s long-standing record of 34 individual stages set between 1969 and 1975.
It had been three years since Cavendish matched Merckx during the 2021 Tour – a run of four wins still celebrated as one of the greatest sport comeback stories of all time.
Emerging from the pandemic, the 2021 wins were his first in five years after a lengthy spell marked by illness, injury and resulting depression.
Cavendish, who was knighted in the King’s birthday honours in June, had narrowly missed out on an historic 35th win at the Tour last year when he finished second on stage seven, before breaking his collarbone the next day in a crash and withdrawing from the rest of the race.
The ‘Manx Missile’ had planned to retire at the end of last season but performed a U-turn last October to ride in one more Tour this summer.
It was through a last-minute deal with Astana-Qazaqstan ahead of the 2023 season after the collapse of another move that revived hopes of the cyclist finally standing alone in his success.
The cyclist’s family met him in Saint Vulbas to share in the celebrations
Mark celebrates with his wife, Peta, and children after his dramatic sprint win in Saint Vulbas
Mark Cavendish celebrates on the podium with family members after winning the 5th stage
It was a long time in the making, with the cyclist’s career hampered by injury and illness
Cavendish arranged a last-minute deal with Astana-Qazaqstan to compete
This year’s Tour has not been without its challenges for Cavendish, who struggled mightily in the 35C heat of a punishing opening stage out of Florence.
Team-mates of the former Team GB star were seen pouring water and stuffing ice down Cavendish’s thin lycra attire in a bid to keep him down during a testing first climb of the afternoon.
The cyclist vomited on the bike and two days later missed the opportunity to contest stage three after being caught behind a late crash in Turin.
‘I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I think I’m more ready now [for retirement] than I was last year. I’m happy but I’m also so happy I carried on,’ he said as the first stage got underway.
Cavendish became the most successful male sprinter in cycling history last month when he won stage two of the Tour of Hungary, the 164th victory of his career, and he is now the most decorated Tour de France rider of all time.
