We thought that the last image of Mark Cavendish on the Tour de France would be that of this eighth day of racing, July 8, 2023: the sprinter, looking haggard, closed face and blank look, installed in the organizers’ ambulance, after a fall which will sign his abandonment.
We obviously do not know if the Briton will be at the start of the Grande Boucle in the summer of 2024, to try to become the sole holder of the record for stage victories – he has 34, as many as the Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx. But one thing is certain: he will not retire at the end of this season, contrary to what the 38-year-old rider announced on the sidelines of the Tour of Italy in May.
“It’s not over yet,” warns his Astana Qazaqstan team, in a brief video posted on Wednesday, October 4, on social networks. Before the native of the Isle of Man confirmed by the same process: “I spoke to the children and asked them what dad should do. And they said, “Go on, the question doesn’t even arise. But just one more year, eh.” »
Refusing to let his career end due to injury, Mark Cavendish will return to the team led by his former teammate Alexandre Vinokourov for another year – his eighteenth professionally. “The first thing “Vino” said to me after I retired from the Tour de France was: “Why not continue for another year? ”I first said no, no. But I just love being on a bike. »
Winner of Milan-San Remo in 2009, the former track rider has one of the finest records in his sport: he has won 162 victories in his career, 34 in the Tour de France, 17 in the Giro and 3 in the Vuelta, as well as as the points classification of the three Grand Tours.
“At the start of my career, I was asked what I wanted,” the Briton told La Gazzetta dello Sport this winter. I replied that if there was a book with all the greatest cyclists, I wanted to be in it, no matter where I was. »
