injury, illness – both physical and mental – and the heartbreak of non-selection had, at one point, made the dream of 34 stage wins seem certain to be left unfulfilled.
Cycling – Tour de France – Stage 4 – Redon to Fougeres – France – June 29, 2021 Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider Mark Cavendish of Britain celebrates after winning stage 4 Pool via REUTERS/Tim De Waele TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Mark Cavendish was left in tears after his first stage win of this year’s Tour de France
“That was perhaps the last race of my career,” a tearful Mark Cavendish said in mid-October.
Less than nine months on, the 36-year-old penned what was perhaps one of sport’s most thrilling comeback stories.
In the process, the Manxman further staked his claim to be Britain’s greatest-ever cyclist and cemented his place as the best sprinter the Tour de France has ever seen.
Cycling – The Tour de France cycling race – The 208.5-km (129.5 miles) Stage 14 from Montelimar to Villars-les-Dombes, Parc des Oiseaux, France – 16/07/2016 – Team Dimension Data rider Mark Cavendish of Britain wins on finish line. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
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Cavendish took the 30th of his stage wins in 2016 – but would have to wait five years for his 31st
He has narrowly missed out on a record 35th Tour stage win.
With 34 stage victories in the bag – matching a record held by Belgian legend Eddy Merckx for close to half-a-century – Cavendish has achieved what, at one point, seemed almost a formality.
In Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux in July 2016, Cavendish secured the 30th of his stage wins and, at the age of 31, it seemed only a matter of time before he matched and then beat Merckx’s record.
With a physique naturally suited to sprinting and a coolness and sharpness of mind that he has admitted to training with sudoku puzzles, Cavendish appeared destined to become the Tour’s greatest-ever stage winner.
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