The 110th Tour de France is good for all sorts of surprises even in its early stages with a guest start in the Basque Country. France’s Victor Lafay (Cofidis) pulled off an unexpected coup on stage two in San Sebastian yesterday when he sped the final kilometer of the shrunken group to 24 men, ahead of real favorites Wout van Aert (Jumbo) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE) won the victory. The yellow jersey was claimed by Pogacar’s teammate Adam Yates.
He had already made history the day before in Bilbao when he secured the first double triumph of twin brothers in the Tour of France in front of Simon Yates (Jayco). “When my brother came, I didn’t know if I could work with him. I asked on the radio,” said Yates, who was approved by Pogacar. This is how he rode to victory and the lead in the world’s largest cycling tour. The UAE team, which also includes Marchtrenker Felix Großschartner, has so far left its mark on the race with a dominant driving style.
But after two hectic days, when the Tour comes to France and ends in Bayonne, the sprinters should finally have a say. And one of the most famous of them is on a special mission. 38-year-old Mark Cavendish rides his very last “Grande Boucle”. The Astana pro can now finally immortalize himself in his favorite race. The Briton from the Isle of Man and the Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx are currently at the top with 34 Tour stage victories each.
And even if this record is “irrelevant” to him, Cavendish wants to make history. He wanted to see his name in a book with all the greats of cycling, he said in a TV documentary on Eurosport: “That’s what I wanted from my career: to be mentioned in the same breath as these riders. “
“The tour is my life”
He achieved his last four successes on the tour in 2021, but last year his team at the time, Quick-Step, did not take him with him. The evergreen, who during his long career was also supported for many years by Styrian Bernhard Eisel as a starter in the sprints, knows how difficult the task is. “So it’s okay with me if I don’t win anymore, I got 34.” The Tour of France was “unlike anything else for the 2011 road world champion. The tour is incredible. Everything about it is simply sublime and it is my life.”
Dominik Feischl
