Teammate Cees Bol praises Mark Cavendish: "It is extremely special to take the record from Eddy Merckx"

Mark Cavendish was of course over the moon after his 35th stage win at the Tour de France. One of the first people he hugged after the finish was Cees Bol, an important link in the sprint train of Astana Qazaqstan.

"I am very happy to be part of this, and especially that it worked out," the Dutchman told WielerFlits afterwards. "The nerves were no different than in the first sprint, maybe even more so. But this time the execution on the bike was a lot better. We were in a good position, we fought hard for that. Maybe something falls away from us, but we are especially very happy. That is the main thing."

The Briton is now the sole record holder for the number of stage wins in the Tour de France. "If you look at Eddy Merckx, it is extremely special to take the record from him."

Bol and Cavendish joined Astana Qazaqstan in 2023. "We had a really good collaboration from the start. Last year we weren’t 'alone' in the team, but we were very much on the same boat, because we only joined the team in January. Now two other guys have joined especially for this project, Davide and Michael. That collaboration is really close. And whether it’s number seven or number 35, when you work towards a nice big goal with a group of driven people, the relief is really big."

The Tour has already been a success for Astana Qazaqstan, says Bol. "But we are going for more," he adds with a laugh. They won't have to wait for a new opportunity very long as the stage from Macon to Dijon should again end in a sprint.