"I'm confident in my form" - Good signs for Mark Cavendish and he pursues Tour de France record
Cycling
Mark Cavendish has struggled quite a lot in the sprints this year, until the Giro d'Italia where in some stages he found good form, and eventually racing into a stage win. The opening sprint of the Tour de France was quite positive for the Manxman who was in the mix for the top positions.
“Yeah I'm happy with that. Ok, obviously, we'd like to win, but I'm happy with how the boys rode, I'm happy with the speed. You see the team are up there with more dialed teams, the teams that do it day-in, day-out," Cavendish told Eurosport at the end of stage 3. "We had a plan to get me at the front there, with 2km to go, into that u-turn, that's what the boys committed too, that's what they did perfect. So actually it was job complete there, it was just down to me trying to find the right wheels after that.”
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Astana Qazaqstan Team have designated Cees Bol and Yevegeniy Fedorov to help in the chaotic sprints that are expected in France over this month, and he's managed to find good positioning last afternoon in Bayonne. With Alpecin-Deceuninck nailing the leadout and taking Jasper Philipsen to victory, Cavendish was only a few spots back, sprinting to sixth in the day.
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“I was OK. I'm happy with the speed, 500m to go, I wasn't even in the top-10, maybe 15th position. I'm happy with that. We said at the beginning that that's not the best kind of finish for me, it was more for someone like Jonathan Milan or Wout van Aert."
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Today's finale into Nogaro will be again for the fast men to fight for, in a finale that is less technical, but instead more exposed and on wider roads of a racing track. Positioning won't likely be such a demanding task and more sprinters will have the opportunity to play their cards for a possible win.
“We'll try tomorrow (today, ed.). It's a different one, I've never finished on a motor racing circuit at the Tour. It's happened in other races, but it might be a bit different at the Tour. It's new for everyone. I'm quite looking forward to it, it'll be another flat day. I think the peloton will look forward to a flatter day tomorrow. Hopefully the wind is alright too. I'm confident in my form, I'm confident in the team, we look forward to the next sprint opportunities," he concluded.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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🇫🇷 RACE: @LeTour @markcavendish (6th): "I am happy. It was not the best finish for me but I'm happy with my speed and my team. I am confident in both. We try again tomorrow." #TDF2023 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam
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