At 39, Mark Cavendish dreams of beating Eddy Merckx’s victory record in the Tour de France. After a nightmarish first weekend on Italian roads, the Briton can smile again this Monday during the first sprint finish in Turin. But will he really have the capabilities?
Is it today or never for Mark Cavendish? In search of the record for stage victories in the Tour de France (he is tied with Eddy Merckx), the Briton is expected this Monday, like all the sprinters, for a first battle between the fastest men in the peloton in the streets of Turin. But does the Cav have the capacity to get involved in the final fight and seek a 35th stage victory on the Grande Boucle? Nothing is less certain, especially since the Astana-Qazaqstan runner experienced an ordeal during the first two days.
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As soon as he left Florence, Cavendish appeared in great pain in the Italian furnace. Quickly left behind at the start of the stage even before the first slopes, he vomited on multiple occasions and had to fight to finish on time, accompanied by his close guard (Michael Morkov, Cees Bol).
“I survived but I saw stars”
After crossing the line in penultimate position, almost 40 minutes behind Romain Bardet, the first yellow jersey of this Tour de France (but almost 10 minutes ahead of the time limit), the double winner of the green jersey (2011, 2021) said he was suffering from the heat on Saturday.
“We knew what we were doing. It is not easy. Like I always say, if you have my physique today, don’t start riding a bike, because those days are gone. But we knew what we were doing. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. We don’t ride bikes to talk. It was so hard, but we had a plan and we stuck to it. I would have liked to stay one more climb with the peloton, but I was seeing stars, really. It was so hot. We are happy to have succeeded. We are well. Obviously, it’s a great story when you’re close to deadlines. Like I said, we kind of had everything under control.”
167th this Sunday, more than 24 minutes behind the winner Kévin Vauquelin in Bologna, Mark Cavendish now has his eyes fixed on Turin, finish of the third stage and playground for big thighs. For a final chance to achieve this record? Faced with strong competition (Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, Dylan Groenewegen, Phil Bauhaus, Wout van Aert, Fabio Jakobsen), will the Cav have the legs to get other chances of victory, while the first kilometers high mountains are looming from Tuesday with the arrival in France, notably the ascent of the terrible Galibier (23 km at 5.1%)?
During the first week, the sprinters will have three more chances to shine, in Saint-Vulbas (Wednesday), Dijon (Thursday) and Colombey-les-deux-Églises (Saturday). It remains to be seen whether the Briton’s experience, and especially his legs, will answer the call to enter a little more into the history of the most beautiful race in the world.
