Sir Mark Cavendish goes from vomiting on side of the road to Tour de France record
Mark Cavendish won a record 35th stage of the Tour de France at the age of 39 taking him him past Belgian legend Eddy Merckx
Knight rider Sir Mark Cavendish rolled away the stone and made it look easier than pushing a hoop downhill.
At 39, the Manx Missile did not just sprint into Tour de France history and join Britain’s all-time greats with his record 35th stage win. Cavendish blew a raspberry at Old Father Time himself with a sporting feat for the ages which beggars belief.
Sprinters aren’t supposed to claim the blue riband prizes for speed and power when they are one candle away from checking into Forty Towers on their birthday cake.
But nobody can hold a candle to Cavendish now, and he will always cherish the 165th win of his career which took him past Belgian legend Eddy Merckx as the man who breasted the tape more often than any rider in 121 years on Le Tour.
A knighthood in last month’s Birthday Honours almost seems insufficient - because Cav is Britain’s undisputed king of the road. Tour race director Christian Prudhomme’s tribute was pitch-perfect. He said: "Everyone has a smile today - even Eddy Merckx.
"Everybody thought it was too late but him. It is a wonderful story. He is the Yellow Jersey of the sprinters."
Stanley Matthews scored for England aged 41, Geoffrey Boycott compiled his final Test century at 40 and Steve Redgrave won Olympic gold, for the fifth Games in a row, as a 38-year-old.
But Cavendish may have topped them all because his chance to join the immortals appeared to have gone.
Just four days earlier, he was throwing up in punishing 95-degree heat on the lung-bursting 127-mile Grand Depart from Florence to Rimini.
And as the sprint trains lined up for the final dash after the 110-mile trek from Saint Jean de Maurienne to Saint Vulbas, all the big guns were there - including Jasper Philipsen, the rival who had denied him on the line in Bordeaux last year.
When Cavendish crashed out of the race with a broken collarbone 24 hours later, his appointment with destiny seemed to have disappeared.
That was supposed to be his last Grand Tour, but his Astana-Qazaqstan team offered him a one-year extension because they didn’t want Cavendish to end his career in the back of an ambulance - and their benevolence was inspired.
Down the years, he had overcome depression, the debilitating Epstein-Barr virus, having bottled urine thrown at him, multiple crashes, being dropped by Team Dimension Data and a terrifying armed robbery at his Essex home in 2021.
His encore was pure gold.
“Maybe your life changes if you cross that line first, maybe it doesn't if you don’t - that is the nature of this race and what makes it so beautiful,” said Cavendish after after dissolving into tears.
He has now done it 35 times, more than anybody else, and he is so respected in the peloton that his rivals are almost reluctant to chase down his record.
Current race leader Tadej Pogacar, who has 12 stage wins to his name so far, grinned:: “Incredible - a 35th victory for Mark. He came to me and said, ‘Don’t break the record’ - but I don’t think I can.
And Geraint Thomas, his former Team Sky sidekick and 2018 Tour de France champion, said: “I’m super-happy for him. Everyone says you get slower when you get older but he’s proved that wrong.
It’s unbelievable what he does and it’s great that he holds that record alone now and doesn’t have to share it with anyone else.
“I told him, ‘Mate, if you win this stage, just drop your bike and walk away’ - but he was like, ‘If I win the first one, I'll want to win more,' so he’s definitely going to hang around isn’t he? I wouldn’t put it past him to win another one.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
