"I am glad that I am no longer a cyclist" Mark Cavendish happy he won't have to face the new last stage of Tour de France:

Mark Cavendish completed his professional career with a record-breaking 35th stage victory at the Tour de France. Since then, he had finally found a time for his family - something he wasn't quite able to do well over the past decades spent within the peloton.

"I already have a lot more time for my family. The past twenty years I was racing. Or maybe I was in a training camp somewhere. But now I could really take the time to celebrate Cas's birthday (his son, ed.). He turned seven on Thursday," Cavendish, who also turned 40 last week, told Het Nieuwsblad. "It's only since Casper was born that I've been more aware of my own birthday. In a cyclist's life, you don't have time for that, of course."

Although there are also things that Cavendish misses about being a cyclist. "Especially being on the road with the boys. After all, it has been my life for more than twenty years. Then it is logical that you start to like certain things. But when I hear that they are also changing the circuit on the Champs-Élysées with that climb of Montmartre, then I am also glad that I am no longer a cyclist," laughed the former top sprinter.

Although it's inevitably going to happen at some point in the future, Cavendish hasn't yet taken up a role in the cycling world. But he's also not just sitting back on his sofa thinking about the past days. The Manxman had become the face of a sponsorship deal between ASO and Airbnb. The Briton sees his future primarily as an ambassador for the online platform for room rental.

It's a project close to the heart of Cavendish: "I don’t just associate my name with them. As a cyclist, we often sleep in impersonal hotels, where you don’t really make contact with anyone. There’s nothing better than ending up in a home. Honestly, Peta and I are considering opening up our own home one day."