Published on 06/28/2024
Mark Cavendish said Friday he had “nothing to lose” on the eve of the start of the Tour de France. The sprinter is aiming for the record for the number of stage victories in the event.
“We wouldn’t be here if we thought it wasn’t possible,” explained the 39-year-old Briton in Florence, where the Grande Boucle will start on Saturday.
The “Cav'” currently co-holds the record for stages won in the Tour alongside the legendary five-time yellow jersey Eddy Merckx, with 34 successes. He had already embarked on the quest for this record last year for what was to be his last Tour de France, but had to abandon his collarbone broken during a fall during the eighth stage between Libourne and Limoges.
The 2011 world champion had come close to raising his arms the day before in Bordeaux, but saw the Belgian Jasper Philipsen steal the show a few metres from the finish line. “I think I’m more ready this year than last year,” assured the sprinter from the Isle of Man, relaxed and smiling.
“We would be happy”
The winner of Milan-Sanremo (2009) explained that he spoke with the boss of the Astana team Alexandre Vinokourov after the Tour last year. “I told him that he couldn’t end his career like that, with a fall,” said the Kazakh manager, before adding: “With a victory for Mark, we would be happy with our Tour.”
Cavendish, twice green jersey in 2011 and 2021, will be accompanied by his Danish pilot fish Michael Morkov and the Italian Davide Ballerini to launch his sprints. “I couldn’t dream of anything better,” said the sprinter.
ats, afp
