Mark Cavendish, who is currently tied with the five-time champion Eddy Merckx as the Tour de France stage win record-holder, says there will “be no room for sentimentality” when he seeks to take a record-breaking 35th stage win in this year’s race.
Cavendish, who won the final stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia in Rome, is enjoying yet another resurgence in form and starts his 14th and final Tour, which begins in Bilbao on Saturday, as the star turn for the Astana Qazaqstan team.
An emotional Cavendish, who started his Tour career in 2007 and plans to retire at the end of the year, struggled to articulate what becoming the stage win record-holder would mean to him.
There was a 30-second pause from the cyclist when the question was asked, before he responded: “In all honesty, I don’t know. I’m just trying to win as much as I can. I’m sorry.
“The whole experience of the Tour, you can’t describe it. This race gives me the most incredible emotions. Unfortunately you can’t really analyse it and appreciate it until afterwards.”
But he said that there was “no room for sentimentality”, adding: “It’s the same every year. I know it’s my last one, but it’s still the same, I have a job to do.”
His bid to win a 35th stage – and potentially, given the number of flat stages, one or two more – will be supported by his former teammate Mark Renshaw, who will be acting as a sprint consultant during the race.
The Australian assisted Cavendish in sprints during several seasons and helped him claim six stage wins in the 2009 Tour alone. But the competition is stronger than ever. Cavendish, who will be riding a custom painted bike for his last Tour, will be racing against a field that contains the most competitive sprinters in the peloton.
Asked about his own form, Cavendish was cautious. “You never really know where you’re at in the race until you start racing,” he said. “The nature of sprinting [of cycling] means that it’s more quantifiable. It makes the physical level higher. I feel that everyone’s closer.”
There has been speculation that if Cavendish breaks the Tour stage win record he may call an end to his career in Paris, when the Tour reaches the Champs-Élysées. However, he declined to confirm that any decision had been made.
“I haven’t thought about it. I’m still racing and still loving it and still enjoying every pedal rev. So I’m just doing it until I don’t enjoy it.”
In another development, David Lappartient, president of world cycling’s governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, has been elected president of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) until 2025.
Lappartient, 50, is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, a board member at the World Anti-Doping Agency and has several roles in local politics and marine management in Brittany. He has also been a pivotal figure in the award of the 2025 UCI World Championships to Rwanda.
