Comeback king 'Cav' set a benchmark doing the thing he loved

It was long a given that Mark Cavendish, who on Saturday announced he was about to retire, was the Tour de France's greatest ever sprinter, but when finally he won a record 35th stage in Saint-Vulbas in July he possibly proved that more to himself than to a long-convinced cycling public.

At 39 and in his 15th Tour de France, Cavendish had overcome injuries, illnesses and years in the wilderness to shine as brightly as anyone could expect a man of his age to do.

He broke a tie with the great Eddy Merckx by flying over the finish line way ahead of his rivals in the lush Rhone valley on stage five of the 2024 Tour, arms in the air, mouth agape in a victory cry.

"I love it, I love racing the Tour de France," he said post-race.

"It's my job and I'll carry on trying to win more and keeping on enjoying it," he added.

Long before his stunning 2021 Tour de France renaissance, when Cavendish won four stages, race director Christian Prudhomme told AFP the British sprinter "has nothing to prove".

Prudhomme said that, in his opinion, Cavendish was the Tour's greatest-ever sprinter.

Cavendish also attracted a new generation to the sport with his brash celebrations at the finish line.

The story began with four stage wins on the 2008 Tour de France, which he abandoned on stage 14 to concentrate on his Olympics track bid with the British team.

Working with the Australian lead-out man Mark Renshaw on the T-Mobile team, Cavendish won five more at each of the next three Tours to ensure a horde of British fans tuned in the same way French ones did every day of the 21-day epic.

A switch to the emerging Team Sky was less fruitful, and he moved to Belgian outfit Quick-Step, run by Patrick Lefevere, between 2013 and 2015 for what he would describe as some of his happiest years.

He moved on in 2016 but fell ill with Epstein Barr virus, which usually causes glandular fever, and went undiagnosed.

Cavendish's career looked compromised in December 2020, teamless and without a Tour de France since 2016.

He was taken 'home' to Quick-Step by the maverick Belgian Lefevere, whom the Briton has always trusted.

Together they masterminded four stage wins to equal Merckx's record of 34.

Merckx was better known for winning the Tour itself five times, and Cavendish was never comfortable being compared to his idol.

"I can't be compared to him," he said. "My wins have all been in sprints.

"Eddy Merckx is the greatest rider of all time, and he will remain so."

- 'I love this sport' -

But the British sprinter surpassed Merckx's record dating back to 1975.

Merckx later added via social media: "Congratulations Mark for this historic performance.

"A good guy who has beaten my record on the Tour."

Cavendish has become one of cycling's big name stars with a Netflix series dedicated to his exploits.

In Florence, the start city of his final Tour, Cavendish suggested he had new horizons and interesting offers to continue in cycling, but off the bike.

On Saturday, he said that was the direction he would head in after his final race, the Singapore Criterium, on Sunday.

"I love this sport. I always have loved this sport I want to make a difference on the bike, I always have wanted to make a difference in it," he said in a voice over on the Instagram post announcing he as going.

"That will not change whether I'm on the bike or not."

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