Mark Cavendish on Tour de France record: "I'm not going to suddenly stop if I can't win that 35th stage"

Mark Cavendish has had a very long winter, and his start of the season comes more as a sigh of relief more than anything else surely. The new Astana Qazaqstan Team rider discussed some of his obstacles, and thoughts regarding the Tour de France record.

Cavendish spoke to L'Équipe in a recent interviewing claiming that “a lot has happened in my private life lately. When the B&B project was off, Alexander [Vinokourov] called me. I had a number of options before that, but some of them were no longer current."

"It was an easy negotiation with Vinokourov. We quickly agreed, which was refreshing. I am grateful to him and Astana for giving me time to focus on the things that happened in my private life," he said.

Having suffered armed robbery this winter, alongside the long and slow collapse of B&B Hotels-KTM, Cavendish found himself in a very rough position in December. However, Astana ended up in the right position as they had the budget to spend, and Cavendish was back free on the market.

A combination that not many would've expected last season, however the Manxman is now a leading figure and head sprinter of the Kazakh team. With Cees Bol coming over and a couple of signing over the winter being focused in the sprints, it is not unreasonable to picture the 37-year old with a strong leadout and capturing stages this year.

This ultimate goal, of course, is the Tour de France: “I want to go back to the Tour, my whole career is based on that race." However, he's keen that his life doesn't depend on netting the record-breaking 35th win. "The record is not that important to me, that is outside speculation. I'm not going to suddenly stop if I can't win that 35th stage."