Mark Cavendish’s fairytale at the Tour de France is a never-ending story.
Only months after he contemplated retirement, the 36-year-old British veteran is now just one win away from tying Eddy Merckx’s record haul of 34 stage wins at cycling’s biggest race.
Cavendish won the 10th stage in a mass sprint on Wednesday (NZT) as Tadej Pogacar kept the race leader’s yellow jersey.
Back at the Tour for the first time since 2018, Cavendish has been dominating the sprints this summer, with three stage wins under his belt already.
In Valence, the sprinter from the Isle of Man once again enjoyed a perfect lead-out from his Deceuninck-Quick Step teammates and comfortably edged Belgians Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen.
“It was an old-school, run-of-the-mill, like you read in the cycling magazines, textbook lead-out,” Cavendish said. “Just getting the lads on the front, pull as fast as they can so no one can come past you… I just had to finish it off. I’m grateful to all of them. I didn’t have to do anything. Just the last 150 meters. I’m thankful to everyone.”
Cavendish has no rival to his measure, especially with the absence of teammate and sprinter Sam Bennett, whom he replaced at the last minute – and after Caleb Ewan crashed out early in the race. He also enjoys the collective experience and force of his team, the best outfit when it comes to one-day racing.
“It’s a bit like with a centre forward in soccer” Thomas Voeckler, a former Tour rider turned commentator for public broadcaster France TV, said after the finish. “When they score, they keep on going. It’s the same with sprinters.”