“Everything’s a possibility. That's the beauty of sport” - Mark Cavendish admits his Tour de France stage win record is a threat from Tadej Pogacar

Although it's barely a couple of weeks since Mark Cavendish's legendary Tour de France career climaxed for the final time, with a record breaking 35th stage win in Saint Vulbas on stage 5 of the 2024 edition of the Grand Tour, the Manx Missile's record is already under threat from Tadej Pogacar.

With the Slovenian taking six stage wins this Tour de France, extending his overall total 17, two more than the 15 Cavendish had at the same age by the way, Pogacar's hunt of the stage win record is very much on. As soon as Cavendish took his 35th victory, the Astana Qazaqstan Team sprinter told the Maillot Jaune; "Don't break it!" with Pogacar replying "I won't."

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“Everything’s a possibility. That's the beauty of sport,” Cavendish admits in conversation with The Independent, seemingly not too downhearted to see his record under such serious threat so soon after breaking it. "If someone is inspired to achieve something and they achieve it, that leaves an inspiration for somebody else to come and achieve more.”

Whatever happens in future however, nothing can take away from Cavendish's indelible impact on cycling's most prestigious race. “Winning one more was always what got me out of bed in the morning, what got me on the bike, what made me do that extra half hour, what made me not eat that extra french fry the kids had left, you know what I mean?” Cavendish reflects. “Life’s taught me enough never to take anything for granted, whether that’s in a bike race or out of it, so you keep going as hard as you can and you hope you can hang on.”

“There were definitely some hard points, days when we were alone in the mountains as a unit trying to get through,” he says. “I say ‘as a unit’ as if I had really a lot to do with it. It was more like my boys would ride in the valley so I could save my energy for the hill, and they just pushed and pushed and then they rode to my pace up a climb. It was completely selfless work, but hard work. It was pretty special.”

With the final Tour de France of his career ending with a time-trial rather than the typical bunch sprint on the Paris cobbles, Cavendish was also able to actually relax and enjoy his final day as a professional bike rider. “Most of the peloton get to absorb the Champs-Elysees but as a sprinter you can’t. I actually absorbed the final day, absorbed the emotions of finishing the Tour. Fifteen Tours, and that’s the first time I’ve felt that,” he concludes. “All I know is I feel complete.”

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