The Tour de France brings together the world's most talented cyclists every summer in the French countryside, and every year is filled with unforgettable moments for lovers of the sport. On July 3, as part of his last Tour, accomplished sprinter Mark Cavendish broke a long-held record that has been in place for half a century.
Cavendish, a cyclist with Astana Qazaqstan, won his 35th stage of the Tour de France, outdoing the 34 stage win record set by cycling legend Eddy Merckx from 1969 to 1975. It's a big achievement considering Merckx is regarded as the most successful professional cyclist of all time, boasting five Tour de France titles to his name, among many other accomplishments. The timing is also seemingly perfect, as the 2024 Tour is expected to be Cavendish's last time doing the race.
According to ESPN, Cavendish secured his record-breaking victory on July 3 by sprinting toward the finish line with just 100 meters to go. The Isle of Man native, called "the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour and of cycling" by Tour director Christian Prudhomme, immediately jumped into his teammate's arms after he won.
Cavendish won his first Tour stage in 2008 and tied Merckx's record of 34 stage wins back in 2021. He came close to notching win number 35 in the seventh stage of last year's race but narrowly lost out. The 39-year-old crashed the following day and broke his right collarbone. That led him to put off retiring for another year in anticipation of one final Tour.
Needless to say it was worth it to try one more time.
"I'm a little bit in disbelief. Astana have put a big gamble on this year to make sure we're good here at the Tour de France," Cavendish said, per NBC Sports. "We've done it."
He also confessed he can be hard on himself, even when things like physical health and weather can play a determining role in our athletic performance.
"I've done 15 Tours de France," he said. "I don't like to have bad days. I don't like to suffer but I know it's just in the head and to push through it."
The 2024 Tour de France concludes July 21.
