Such is the dominance of the Olympics, the Tour de France is taking a literal detour, finishing in a time trial on Nice’s grand promenade instead of the traditional sprint on Paris’ Champs-Elysees.
So perhaps it’s a relief, then, that Mark Cavendish will be there for the start in Florence on Saturday – the Briton being almost as ubiquitous as the Champs’ oily cobbles.
It’s hard to proclaim that this will be the final, final appearance of the , after being tempted out of retirement, given how many comebacks there have now been.
Last year he missed out on the Tour stage win record by centimetres in Bordeaux, only to crash out the following day.
But Cavendish’s past indifference about the prospect of achieving 35 stage wins, to Belgian legend Eddy Merckx’s 34, doesn’t deter others from desperately wanting his glittering career to end in a fairytale.
“I’m so happy I carried on,” Cavendish said on Friday. “If anything I’m more ready than last year. Florence is beautiful – I lived here for 10 years, training on these roads.
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