Mark Cavendish’s career seemed over a few years ago. However, this month he can only win the record for the most stage victories in the Tour de France. It shows his almost legendary willpower.
Cavendish shifts in his chair. He has been asked this question many times before. Still, it takes at least twenty seconds for him to answer. “I really don’t know what it will mean for me if I book my 35th stage victory,” said the 38-year-old Briton finally, two days before the start of the Tour in Bilbao. He smiles briefly at the questioner. “I’m sorry.”
This month, the top sprinter can definitively break Eddy Merckx’s unassailable record from the books. Two years ago, he tied the level with the Belgian legend with his 34th day success in the Tour de France.
Since that 2021 Tour, Cavendish has been inseparable from Merckx and the Tour record. “In recent months, all the interviews I gave were mainly about this,” says Cees Bol in conversation with NU.nl. The North Hollander has been a teammate of ‘Cav’ at Astana since this season. “Everyone is talking about that record, except Mark himself. He just wants to win again in the Tour. Yes, that would be number 35. But he would be just as motivated if it was about his twentieth stage victory.”
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Cavendish said in an interview with this year The Gazzetta dello Sport that he “places little value” on the record. Don’t misunderstand him; he really wants to achieve 35 stage victories in the largest cycling race in the world. Only that has nothing to do with Merckx’s number.
“I’ve said many times that I’m not trying to break someone else’s record,” Cavendish said Brand. “It is more something for journalists whether I beat Merckx or not. I only think about winning as much as possible. That has always been my motivation.”
Can Cavendish win again in Bordeaux?
The seventh stage of the Tour de France finishes in Bordeaux on Friday. Normally that will be the third bunch sprint of this round. In the first two, Mark Cavendish finished sixth (stage 3) and fifth (stage 4). The Brit won the previous Tour stage in 2010 that finished in Bordeaux.
Tour de France 2008 was a breakthrough for Cavendish
Robbie McEwen remembers well how he suddenly encountered a young and very aggressive sprinter in the 2008 Tour. “He was small, had a good jump and a very good feeling to be in the right place at the right time,” says the former top sprinter from Australia, who is now an analyst at Eurosport, in conversation with NU.nl. “But Mark Cavendish was especially ridiculously fast.”
The then 23-year-old Brit wins four stages in his second Tour de France, the start of a long period in which he is the best sprinter in the peloton. The highlight comes in 2009, with no fewer than six day successes in the Tour and 23 victories in total.
According to McEwen – himself good for twelve stage victories in the Tour – Cavendish distinguished himself from the other sprinters by “sheer willpower”. “Many athletes talk about giving 100 percent their best, but not everyone shows that. With Cavendish, at least in his prime, you knew that he would always do everything he could to win. That determination is as far as I’m concerned unparalleled in the peloton.”
Daan de Ridder is a cycling reporter
Daan reports the Tour de France for NU.nl for the seventh time. Read more stories from Dan here.
His will to win at all costs also had a negative side. Cavendish has regularly been involved in dangerous incidents throughout his career. In the 2010 Tour de Suisse, other riders even protested ‘Cav’s aggressive racing style before a stage, after he had been responsible for a heavy crash the day before.
The sharpest edges seem a bit off in recent years with the Isle of Man rider. “But he still asks a lot of himself and everyone around him,” Bol assures. “It is very cool that this year I can experience up close what extreme passion is behind Mark’s great honors list.”
Mark Cavendish is popular with fans this Tour. Photo: AFP
Cavendish suffered from depression
After the 152nd win of his career, Cavendish sits with tears in his eyes on a folding chair in front of a large sponsor sign. “I don’t know what to say for a moment,” he said after his sprint victory in the fourth stage of the 2021 Tour. “There were very few people who still believed in me. Actually, I didn’t think I would ever return in the Tour. But apparently it was written in the stars.”
With his success in the Breton town of Fougères, Cavendish finally closes a very dark period. As of 2017, he had been knocked out for two years by the Epstein-Barr virus, which can cause glandular fever, among other things. Those physical issues, stress, pain from falls and a lack of top form on the bike led to him being diagnosed with clinical depression in August 2018.
“It was an incredibly tough time. And it changed me forever,” Cavendish said in an interview with this year Cyclist. “I have occasionally thought about quitting, but never very seriously. I had to start from scratch again, but I wanted to do everything I could to be able to perform at the top level again.”
Cavendish did not win a race for more than three years. At the end of 2020, he seemed forced to end his career, until his old team boss Patrick Lefevere gave him another chance. ‘Cav’ accepted a contract with minimal salary and trained alone for hours on an empty Greek velodrome. It resulted in that great comeback in the 2021 Tour, with a total of four stage victories.
“I’m among the people who thought it was over for him a few years ago,” says McEwen. “But that is the dumbest thing you can do: completely write off Cavendish. Even if there is only a 1 percent chance, that is all he needs to win. Also in this Tour.”
Most victories by active riders
Mark Cavendish – 162 Peter Sagan – 121 Arnaud Démare – 93 Alexander Kristoff – 88 Elia Viviani – 87
Will Cavendish strike in Bordeaux?
Cavendish is no longer the fastest rider in the peloton. Yet on his best days he is still good enough to win. Like at the end of May in the last stage of the Giro, a week after he announced at an emotional press conference that he will really stop after this season.
“There is no doubt about Mark in our team,” says Bol. “He now has 54 stage victories in a Grand Tour and 162 victories in total in his career. Someone with such an honors list can really win a stage in this Tour.”
Cavendish will have another chance to sprint Merckx off the books in Bordeaux on Friday. If he takes his 35th stage victory, it will be mainly on willpower. “The most important lesson I pass on to my children is that you should never give up,” says Cav. “That’s the best way to live as far as I’m concerned.”
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2023-07-07 03:19:00
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