Sir Mark Cavendish heads to the Tour de France eyeing one last stage win. Can he do it?
And so here we are: Sir Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France swansong, his final chance to make history and claim that 35th stage victory.
The Briton, awarded a knighthood in the recent King’s birthday honours, is backed by both his Astana-Qazaqstan team and his former long-time sports director to win at least one of the Tour’s possible eight sprints over the course of the next three weeks.
Cavendish, 39, has only won two races all season – one each at the Tours of Colombia and Hungary – but after recovering from illness in the spring, he decamped three times to Athens, Greece, to fine-tune his sprinting, and also went to altitude in Spain’s Sierra Nevada in May. The hope and expectation is that the training and racing plan that began last December will lead to a historic outcome.
“I’m not going to say that he’s going to win one, two, three or however many stages, but we have said from the beginning of the season that the target is for him to arrive at the Tour in the best physical condition, and he is now where I expected him to be,” his coach Vasilis Anastopoulos told CW.
“I cannot predict what will happen, but we’re confident that he’s going there healthy and in good condition, with a similar shape to what he had in previous years.”
Anastopoulous helped guide Cavendish to his four stage victories and the green jersey in the 2021 race, while his leadout train contains two other members from that Deceuninck-Quick Step team: Michael Mørkøv and Davide Ballerini. Cees Bol, an accomplished sprinter in his own right, will also add to the firepower.
“I’m really optimistic because I think we have the best leadout train in the Tour,” Anastopoulous continued. “Ballerini, Mørkøv and Cees Bol are all in good shape and not many teams can challenge us. And, of course, Mark’s experience is second to none, especially in the Tour de France.
“I remember giving an interview before the 2021 Tour when Mark was called up at the last minute, and I said then that if Mark could win one stage, he would win four or five, because once he’s got momentum he cannot be stopped. And what did he do? He won four stages.”
One last stand
Twelve months ago, Cavendish was preparing for what he said would be his last ever Tour, but after finishing second on stage seven in Bordeaux, he then crashed out of the race 24 hours later with a broken collarbone.
He eventually committed to Astana for another season, and has made it clear tha
