"He has to stay calm" - Alexander Vinokourov urges Cavendish to relax in chase for historic Tour de France stage win
Cycling
If Mark Cavendish could add a historic 35th Tour de France stage to his palmares in the coming weeks, not only would be a career-defining win for the 'Manx Missile' but also a massive moment in the history of cycling's most iconic race. Astana Qazaqstan Team's boss Alexander Vinokourov is urging for calm.
“I think he’s in a good place,” Vinokourov told Spanish newspaper AS. “He’s pleased with the team, with his teammates and his stage 21 victory at the Giro d’Italia means his motivation is high. Our big goal is to get that stage, but he has to stay calm. That’s the most important thing of all."
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With one of his chances having already come and gone, Cavendish finishing in sixth position on the stage 3 bunch sprint behind eventual winner Jasper Philipsen, Vinokourov is keen to stress that there is no need to worry. More chances will come.
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“If he wins here that would be very nice, not just for him but also for the team," he explains. "It’d be a great way to finish his career. I don’t want to put him under more stress than he already feels. The day before the Tour we went out for a bike ride together and I told him he should keep calm."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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🤩 @MarkCavendish has a lot of love for his fans 🙌🏻 These guys have followed him for his entire career! 🤯 _______ 🇫🇷 #TDF2023
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