History was made on stage 5 of the 2024 Tour de France as sprinting legend Mark Cavendish took a record breaking 35th Tour de France stage win, moving clear of the great Eddy Merckx as the most successful stage winner in the history of cycling's most iconic race.
"I can't believe it. It was a big gamble to be here, to try to win here. A big gamble for my boss (Alexandre Vinokourov, ed.). That shows that he is a former rider and that he knows what the Tour is," Cavendish said in a post-race interview. "We just did it. We did what we wanted. Every detail in terms of equipment and teammates was adapted to sprinting. We are not suddenly going to be at the top of the UCI rankings, but the Tour de France is bigger than cycling."
With an incredible 16 years between his first stage win and his most recent, Cavendish has defeated all the great sprinters of the modern era. From Thor Hushovd to Marcel Kittel, Jasper Philipsen to Erik Zabel, the longevity of the Manx Missile has been nothing short of incredible during his career. As such, it may seem unlikely that anyone could ever beat the record of the now 39-year-old sprinter. If it is to happen however, who is best placed?
Well, immediately following Cavendish's 35th win, the Astana Qazaqstan Team sprinter headed over the Maillot Jaune wearing Tadej Pogacar, urging the UAE Team Emirates leader "don't beat it!" to which Pogacar replied with a chuckle; "No I won't, no worries!"
Just 25 years old, Pogacar already has 12 Tour de France stage wins and counting (written prior to stage 7 of the 2024 Tour de France ed.). With 24 stages to go to improve on Cavendish's record, it may seem out of reach, but as seen by the UAE Team Emirates leader's 6 stage wins at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, Pogacar could very easily and very quickly build up that tally of Tour triumphs.
"When I was a kid, I was watching Mark with my friends and my brother," Pogacar said in his post-stage 5 press conference. "He was just a hero to so many guys. He was winning in such a class with the team together. Now I'm already racing against him for six years. We became quite good friends, I would say. Winning the 35th stage, he's in historical company. Mark asked me behind the podium 'Please don't break this record' so I will let him have it."
If not Pogacar, who else? Jonas Vingegaard might seem a good shout given his dominance at the Tour over the last two years. With just three stage wins to his name however, the Dane is some way off. Jasper Philipsen took four stage wins at the 2023 edition of the Tour, increasing his tally to six victories. As seen by the Belgian's struggles in 2024 however, it's not always easy to keep winning multiple stages every year.
In fact, other than Pogacar, no active rider has been able to reach double figures in stage wins. So in summary, the evidence seems to suggest that Cavendish is set to hold the record for a very long while. Could Pogacar break it possibly, but even if he does that seems some way off at this point.
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