In the sweaty, sticky and humid heat of Singapore, Mark Cavendish brought many smiles to the public present at this criterium. As he had done the previous week, in Saitama, Japan, on the other promotional event of the Tour de France organized in this Asian tour. With a moving crowd, in his farewell tour, for this outstanding sprinter, this king of the final straight who wrote the history of Cycling with his 35 stage victories in the Tour de France. He also appreciated wearing bib 35 for his final day as a runner. A nice nod from the organization to its record of 35 successes on the roads of the Grande Boucle. And he did not fail to indicate this impressive number by crossing the finish line as winner.
gull“It’s been hard not to cry, even though I’ve known for a while that I’m going to stop.”
“There were a lot of emotions on this dayhe said upon arrival. From the start, when the participants made me a guard of honor with their bikes. It was strong. It’s been hard not to cry, even though I’ve known for a while that I was going to stop. In the race, I was a little nervous, I feared falling, I really didn’t want to fall, I wanted to finish my last event! In the last five laps, I told myself that I was pedaling the last fifteen kilometers of my career. And then there was this final red flame as a runner. But hey, I was also a little at the limit at that time… I hadn’t done any races since the Tour de France, I was lacking a little rhythm… And this heat didn’t help.”
A complicated relationship with the media
Long after his last finish line crossed as winner, drops of sweat still beaded from his emotional face. A sometimes double face. With a charming side with the fans, with his teammates, his entourage. And another more taciturn, marked by his strong character (which certainly allowed him to last so long in the peloton, to recover during his career from his numerous falls and other troubles such as his depression). An explosive character, too, which sometimes boomed in his complicated relationship with the media (off camera).
Of which we had a new example, on Saturday, in a somewhat surreal press moment. While it had already been announced that Singapore would be his last race, this subject was truly taboo there! His wife Peta Todd had also warned the three journalists present (without an English-speaking colleague withdrawn at the last minute because he was not wanted by Sir Mark Cavendish himself…): her husband, who had refused our request for a solo interview, would not respond as to the questions relating to the Singapore criterion…
When we asked the future ex-English runner what a victory at the Singapore criterium would mean to him (to stay on topic!) with bib number 35 for his last race, he turned his face ninety degrees. We thought he thought about his answer for a long time. But no: he considered that this question was off topic. After about thirty seconds of this awkward silence, his wife intervened: “We don’t really say if tomorrow is his last race. So if you want to talk about the Singapore race in general, that’s OK, but not the feelings and details. THANKS…”
In this context, the interview ends three minutes later. “Okay, are we done?”he asks with a relieved smile while quickly getting up from his chair. A few hours later, he was more talkative in his own press release, announcing that he was going to compete in his last race… Before once again confirming the end of his career after his victory in Singapore.
gull“Cycling represents a form of freedom, a way to meet people, to be alone with your thoughts. It has so much potential as a sport, as a means of transportation, as a hobby.”
With, at this moment and with its charming side, a beautiful tribute to his sport. “I always loved cycling and still do. It represents a form of freedom, a way to meet people, to be alone with your thoughts. It has so much potential as a sport, as a means of transportation, as a hobby. He brought me so much… With my victories (Editor’s note: in addition to his 35 stage successes at the Tour de France and his two conquests of the green jersey, there was his title of world champion on the road in 2011, his three world titles on the track in the event of American, but also, among its 185 official successes, Milan-Sanremo, 17 successes in the Giro and three in the Vuelta), this record at the Tour de France. It doesn’t matter how many stage successes there are in the end. The Tour de France is a dream for children and adults too. Managing to win a stage was already so strong. Afterwards, it was just the will to win again. And finishing with a victory, here, against the new generation of sprinters, is the best end to my career that I could have hoped for.”
Winning, he will no longer do it in the world of pro cycling. At least on a bike. Because he should stay in the industry according to rumors from Radio Peloton.
Rik Verbrugghe’s ambitious project
