Mark Cavendish has done it: with his 35th stage win, the Brit has made an entry in the Tour de France history books. Bliss is written all over his face.
Mark Cavendish has already won many things in cycling, but this one victory, he wanted it badly. On Wednesday, the Briton completed his last big mission at the age of 39. The sprint star from the Isle of Man achieved his long-awaited sole record of stage wins at the Tour de France, finally surpassing the legendary Eddy Merckx in this respect.
"I can hardly believe it," said Cavendish, overjoyed at his 35th stage win in the Tour of France. Once again he had proved to his younger rivals who the true sprint king in the peloton is.
Suffered, sweated, puked
Things were still looking bleak for the 2011 world champion on Saturday, when he rolled into the finish 39 minutes behind in the tough start stage and in the heat. He had previously vomited and been sprayed with water by his team-mates. Now the big coup came earlier than expected in this tour.
For Cavendish, the 15th is probably his last participation in the Tour de France. He actually wanted to end his career last year. After a crash in stage 8, he had to leave the tour prematurely. However, Team Astana and his boss Alexander Vinokourov believed in him. Cavendish extended his contract by a year - all for his last big win. "My team took a big risk with me," said Cavendish in the winner's interview. "Every little detail was specific to today's stage. Now we've done it."
Further chances
With his 165th professional victory, which also puts him in second place on the all-time leaderboard behind Merckx (275), a dream has come true for Cavendish. The record-breaking rider will get another chance to win on Thursday at what is likely to be the next sprint finish in Dijon. "We'll give it a go, we'll ride every sprint where we have the chance. After all, it's the Tour de France. It's not just the biggest bike race in the world, it's the biggest sporting event in the world for me."
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