![\"Cavendish](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/markcavendish-66858bdfc5f0b.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\n2024 Tour de France Stage 5<\/p>\n
It was on Stage 5 of the 2024 Tour de France that Cavendish finally
\nhad the moment, he and his fans, had dreamt of for so long. In the unassuming
\ntown of Saint-Vulbas, far from the pomp of Paris, the 39-year-old sprint legend
\nwrote a new chapter of Tour history in what was expected to be his final
\nappearance at cycling\u2019s biggest race.<\/p>\n
Cavendish unleashed a vintage sprint in the final 100
\nmeters, timing his acceleration perfectly to blow past his rivals. He crossed
\nthe line ahead of Jasper Philipsen, with Alexander Kristoff in third, then
\nroared in celebration as the enormity of his achievement sank in. Many of his
\nrivals, who he had just beaten once again, quickly came over to him to
\ncongratulate him on a truly legendary moment.<\/p>\n
It may not have been the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, but the moment was
\nmassive, Cavendish\u2019s 35th Tour de France stage win, breaking Merckx\u2019s long
\nstanding record for most career stage victories.<\/p>\n
The reaction to Cavendish\u2019s win showed how beloved he is in
\nthe peloton. Riders from other teams rushed to congratulate and hug him, and
\neven the usual podium rivals were smiling. Cavendish, joined by his wife and
\nchildren on the podium, was overcome with emotion. \u201cI always needed to win one
\nmore, more more,\u201d he admitted, reflecting on the competitive fire that had kept
\nhim in the sport for so long.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a lot to get there every year. I\u2019ve got incredible
\npeople around me.\u201d Indeed, Cavendish credited his Astana team for believing in
\nhim, \u201cAstana put a big gamble on this year\u2026 We\u2019ve done it,\u201d he said in
\ndisbelief after the stage. Sixteen years after his first Tour stage win, the Manx
\nMissile had finally claimed sole ownership of a record many thought would never
\nbe broken.<\/p>\n
But how did he get there in the first place?<\/p>\n
Story of a legend<\/p>\n
Long before his fairy-tale 2024 triumph, Mark Cavendish had
\nestablished himself as a sprinting legend. Hailing from the Isle of Man,
\nCavendish burst onto the Tour de France scene as a young pro in the late 2000s.
\nHe captured his first Tour stage win in 2008 and quickly proved unstoppable in
\nthe sprints. Between 2008 and 2011, Cavendish racked up an astonishing 20 stage
\nvictories at the Tour, including a personal-best six wins in a single Tour
\n(2009), an unprecedented display of sprint supremacy in the modern era.<\/p>\n
He became especially renowned for conquering the prestigious
\nChamps-\u00c9lys\u00e9es stage in Paris, winning the Tour\u2019s final stage four years
\nin a row (2009\u20132012), a stage most sprinters dream about winning just once in
\ntheir career. By 2011, Cavendish had clinched the Tour\u2019s points classification,
\ndonning the green jersey as the race\u2019s top sprinter, and that same year he was
\ncrowned world champion on the road, confirming his status as the fastest
\nfinisher on the planet. At his peak, the \u201cManx Missile\u201d was simply unstoppable
\nif someone let him hit top speed.<\/p>\n
Cavendish\u2019s early Tour career was defined by prolific
\nsuccess and big milestones. He won at least four Tour stages in each of the
\n2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 editions. He twice earned the green jersey as
\noverall sprint champion (2011 and later 2021) and has also picked up a rainbow jersey victory, 3 wins at the
\nVuelta, 17 wins at the Giro, and also won the Milano-Sanremo monument.<\/p>\n
The dark days<\/p>\n
Maintaining such dominance, however, was not without
\nchallenges. In the mid-2010s, Cavendish\u2019s career hit a turbulent stretch. He
\nsuffered serious crashes, most famously a heavy fall in the 2014 Tour\u2019s opening
\nstage on British soil that left him with a dislocated shoulder, and he was
\nlater diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, a debilitating illness that
\nsidelined him during 2017\u20132018.<\/p>\n
The victories dried up, and for the first time Cavendish
\nlooked mortal. By 2019, he was even left off his team\u2019s Tour squad, a crushing
\nblow for a rider who lived to win in July. Many wondered if the Manx Missile
\nhad misfired for good. Cavendish himself has candidly spoken about battling
\ndepression during this period, as he struggled to recapture his top form.<\/p>\n
But champions of Cavendish\u2019s caliber don\u2019t quit easily. In
\n2021, he engineered one of cycling\u2019s greatest comebacks. Having rejoined the
\nQuick Step team in a last-minute deal, Cavendish wasn\u2019t even supposed to ride
\nthe Tour that year, but when an injury opened a spot, he seized the
\nopportunity.<\/p>\n
What followed was the stuff of legend: Cavendish won four
\nstages in the 2021 Tour and stormed to another green jersey, at age 36. In
\ndoing so, he equaled Merckx\u2019s record of 34 career Tour stage wins, a feat that
\nseemed unthinkable just a year prior. Suddenly, the record that had stood since
\n1975 was within his reach. The cycling world was overjoyed at Cav\u2019s
\nrenaissance; the improbable comeback was complete, and he once again stood on
\nthe Tour podium in Paris, wrapped in green and tied with the Cannibal\u2019s
\nhallowed mark.<\/p>\n
Fate, however, would make Cavendish wait a little longer for
\noutright history. In 2022, despite his resurgent form, Cavendish\u2019s team left
\nhim off the Tour roster, meaning he would have to wait at least another year
\nfor victory. Undeterred, Cavendish switched to the Astana Qazaqstan team for
\n2023, announcing that year would be his final season and final shot at the
\nrecord.<\/p>\n
But the 2023 Tour de France brought heartbreak.<\/p>\n
On Stage 7 in Bordeaux, Cavendish came agonizingly close to
\nwin number 35, only to be foiled by a late mechanical problem and beaten on the
\nline by Jasper Philipsen, who dominated the sprints that year. The next day,
\nmisfortune struck again as Cavendish crashed heavily and broke his collarbone,
\nforcing him to abandon the race. It was a cruel end, his Tour career appeared
\nover, stuck on 34 wins, with the record still just out of reach. In a tearful
\nmoment, Cavendish waved goodbye to the 2023 Tour, and many assumed that was the
\nend of the road for the Manx Missile.<\/p>\n
Yet, true to his tenacious character, Cavendish refused to
\nlet that be his final chapter. He decided to postpone retirement and give the Tour
\none more go in 2024. It was a bold, almost defiant choice, at 38 turning 39,
\nCavendish would be far older than nearly all his sprinting rivals. But as he
\nlater said, \u201cYou know when the team\u2019s dialed in\u2026 if you get through it, you can
\nhave an opportunity\u201d.<\/p>\n
He believed there was still one more magic day in his legs.
\nThat faith was rewarded spectacularly on July 3, 2024, when Cavendish finally
\nmade cycling history on Stage 5. His decision to carry on was vindicated in the
\nbest possible way, with a victorious swansong that captivated fans around the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cavendish broke the record for stage wins in 2024<\/p>\n
A true legend<\/p>\n
The word \u2018legend\u2019 gets thrown around regular in sport, but
\nCavendish is one that truly deserves that title. Merckx\u2019s mark of 34 had loomed
\nsince 1975, nearly half a century, and many thought it untouchable.<\/p>\n
Cavendish not only reached it, he surpassed it, and he did
\nso as a pure sprinter. In contrast to Merckx (a five-time Tour champion who won
\nstages in time trials, mountains, and sprints), every single one of Cavendish\u2019s
\n35 wins came in bunch sprint finishes. He dominated the Tour\u2019s flat stages like
\nno rider before him, using his uncanny positional sense, explosive
\nacceleration, and sheer will to beat generation after generation of fast men.<\/p>\n
Mark Cavendish\u2019s story is one of talent, tenacity, and an
\nundying passion for the Tour de France. He has worn the yellow jersey (if only
\nbriefly), claimed the green jersey twice, and won 165 races in his career, but
\nnothing tops the moment he became the Tour\u2019s winningest stage rider.<\/p>\n
In an era when sprinters come and go, Cavendish has been to
\na whopping 15 Tours, and has been a threat in just about all of them. His
\nrecord may well stand for generations, a target perhaps never to be reached by
\nanother.<\/p>\n
As we count down the final days to the 2025 Tour,
\nCavendish\u2019s record-breaking triumph reminds us that even in a race rich with
\nhistory, new legends can still be written. At the rate Tadej Pogacar is going,
\nwe may have a new record in the not so distant future. But, that won\u2019t matter,
\nas Cavendish is already the greatest sprinter the Tour has ever seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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