Tour de France: Mark Cavendish claims record-breaking 35th stage win

Mark Cavendish made history at the Tour de France by winning his 35th stage, surpassing cycling legend Eddy Merckx. He achieved this milestone with an impressive sprint finish in Saint Vulbas.

In his last Tour, the 39-year-old surprised everyone by winning stage five in a thrilling finish. He raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line and was congratulated by his teammates.

The impressive milestone was reached one year following Cavendish's unfortunate crash on stage eight of the race, which happened just one day after narrowly missing out on a record-breaking win to Jasper Philipsen.

"You run with all your strength until you reach the end, and your life could potentially be transformed if you are the first to cross that finish line. However, if you don't make it, your life may not change. This is the essence of the race and what makes it so captivating," Cavendish explained to ITV.

Cavendish and Belgian Merckx were tied for the record of most Tour stage wins until Cavendish broke the tie by winning his 34th stage in 2021.

In the previous year, he had planned to retire after his 14th Tour, but the desire to break the Tour stage record drove him to make a comeback.

Putting off his retirement for another year, Cavendish, widely considered the greatest sprinter ever, has finally won the prestigious prize he has been yearning for.

The British man was worried that his job might be finished, and struggles with sickness, injuries, and feeling sad all played a part in him not succeeding at all in 2019 and 2020.

However, he rejoined the Belgian Quick Step team in 2021 and achieved an impressive comeback by winning four stages at the Tour.

Not included in the 2022 Tour and appearing to not have a contract at the end of that year, he quickly signed with Astana Qazaqstan for 2023.

After a crash left him with a broken collarbone and ended his race unexpectedly last year, the Manx Missile was determined not to let his career come to an end.

And then, in Saint Vulbas, with a characteristic sprint to the finish, Cavendish reached the historic moment that has always been seen as his fate.

Tour race director Christian Prudhomme stated that everyone was wearing a smile today, including the legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx.

Everyone believed it was past the point of success except for him. This tale is truly remarkable. He is the top sprinter in the race, leading the pack with the coveted yellow jersey.

Following the challenging climb up the famous Col du Galibier on Tuesday, stage five allowed the leading competitors in the race a break as they cycled along the mostly level 177.4 km path from Saint Jean de Maurienne to Saint Vulbas.

And this presented Cavendish with a new opportunity to make history - later disclosing that this was the stage that he and his Astana Qazaqstan team had been particularly getting ready for.

During stage five, only two riders, Clement Russo from Groupama-FDJ and Matteo Vercher from Total Energies, tried to break away from the pack. However, their lead of four-and-a-half minutes was soon dwindled down by the sprint teams leading the peloton.

The race was tense for Tadej Pogacar, the rider in first place, as he had a close call when he had to dodge a traffic island at the very last moment. Although some other riders crashed during the race, fortunately no one was badly hurt.

Slovenia's Pogacar, who is 25 years old, kept the yellow jersey as the leader of the race. He secured the top spot by winning stage four, finishing 45 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel in the General Classification. Last year's champion Jonas Vingegaard was five seconds behind Evenepoel.

After the general classification teams brought their leaders safely to the final stretch, the intense race to the finish line began. Astana Qazaqstan consistently showed strong organization as Cavendish executed his memorable sprint.

After winning his 165th race, Cavendish has solidified his place in history as the Tour's most successful stage winner. This victory comes sixteen years after he first made a splash in the Tour de France back in 2008.

In response to Cavendish's momentous victory, former colleague and close pal Geraint Thomas expressed his excitement, stating: "I am absolutely amazed and extremely pleased for him. It's fantastic that he now holds the record on his own without having to share it with anyone else."

I told my buddy to drop his bike and leave if he wins this stage, but he replied that if he wins the first one, he'll want to win more. So it looks like he'll be sticking around for sure.

In step six of the race on Thursday, the fast cyclists have another chance on a smooth 163.5km road from Macon to Dijon, ending with a 800m-straight final stretch.

Mark Cavendish from Great Britain riding for Astana-Qazaqstan finished the race in 4 hours, 8 minutes, and 46 seconds.

Jasper Philipsen from Belgium, riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck, finished with the same time.

won the" first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday in a sprint finish. Kristoff edged out Caleb Ewan (Aus/Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Svk/Bora-Hansgrohe) to claim the victory. The Norwegian rider now holds the coveted yellow jersey as the race leader. Kristoff's victory marks a strong start to the Tour de France for his team, Uno-X, as they look to continue their success throughout the rest of the race.

Arnaud de Lie from the Bel/Lotto-dstny team had remarkable success in yesterday's race. He showcased his talent and skill on the track, making a strong impression on his competitors. His performance was truly outstanding and he has definitely made a mark in the cycling world.

Fabio Jakobsen from the Netherlands, riding for Team DSM, will be representing the firmenich-PostNL team in the upcoming competition.

crossed the finish line first in today's stage, winning by a hair. He put on a strong performance in the final sprint, leaving his competitors in the dust. It was a thrilling finish and an impressive victory for Ackermann."

Arnaud Demare from France, who rides for Arkea-B&B Hotels, commented on the race."

belonged to the InterMarche-Wanty team.

had a great performance in the final stage of the Tour de France. He was able to sprint to a fourth-place finish, showing his strength and skill on the bike. This result was a big achievement for Girmay and his team, as it demonstrated their competitiveness in one of the biggest races in the world. Girmay's performance will surely be a boost for his confidence and motivation going forward in his cycling career."

Marijn van den Berg, a cyclist from the Netherlands riding for EF Education-EasyPost, discussed his performance in the recent race."

Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia and the UAE Team Emirates finished the race in 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 24 seconds.

Remco Evenepoel from Belgium riding for Soudal-Quick Step is currently trailing by 45 seconds.

3. Jonas Vingegaard, representing Visma-Lease a Bike team from Denmark, is currently trailing 50 seconds behind the leader.

Juan Ayuso from Spain, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, is currently trailing the leader by 1 minute and 10 seconds.

5. Primoz Roglic (Slovenian rider competing for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team) is currently positioned in second place, trailing the leader by a margin of 1 minute and 14 seconds.

6. Carlos Rodriguez from Spain, racing for Ineos Grenadiers, is currently trailing by 1 minute and 16 seconds.

Mikel Landa from Spain, racing for Team Soudal-Quick Step, is currently 1 minute and 32 seconds behind the leader.

8. Joao Almeida from Portugal, riding for the UAE Team Emirates, finished the stage 1 minute and 32 seconds behind the leader.

9. Giulio Ciccone from Italy, riding for Lidl-Trek, finished the race +3 minutes and 20 seconds behind the leader.

10. Egan Bernal from Colombia, riding for Ineos Grenadiers, is currently in third place, trailing by 3 minutes and 21 seconds.