"He really wants to go down in the history books as the greatest sprinter of all time" - Adam Blythe refuses to rule out Mark Cavendish taking historic 35th Tour de France stage

Having initially planned to retire at the end of 2023, Mark Cavendish reversed that decision in order for one final swansong in 2024 and a last crack at taking sole ownership of the Tour de France stage win record.

“Being the champion that he is, literally being the best of all time, that man’s palmares just shines through. He’s probably the greatest sprinter in history,” said ex-pro turned analyst, Adam Blythe as part of Eurosport's coverage of the UAE Tour, where Cavendish was a 22nd placed finisher in the opening bunch sprint on Monday.

With 34 stage wins in his legendary Tour de France career, Cavendish needs just one more to eclipse Eddy Merckx and make himself without peer at the top of the list. “To see him back is not a surprise. For Mark, he had unfinished business at the Tour; he was second on a stage last year, he had a mechanical problem, and then crashing out," Blythe says. “For him, he wants that Eddy Merckx record. It is about that."

It’s not all about that, it’s the pure love of cycling as well, but he is a champion and he really wants to go down in the history books as the greatest sprinter of all time, the most successful rider in the Tour de France of all time,” he continues.

Realistically though, what are Cavendish's chances. 'The Manx Missile' has proved in the past it's foolish to completely rule him out but at age 38 and with the likes of Jasper Philipsen among others providing some tough competition, can the Astana Qazaqstan Team sprinter pull it out of the fire one more time?

“In the team he’s in now it really is all or nothing. He’s moved Michael Morkov across, he was looking at retirement, Cav asked him to come across and he’s come across," Blythe concludes. “Having them two back together, Cav had his most successful years when they were together. It is all or nothing, one year to do it all, and he’s got the best team around him to try and do that. He’s not holding anything back. Every single race, every single training, will matter that little bit more than it has in the past few years.”