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Deceuninck-QuickStep sprinter Mark Cavendish couldn’t make history and break Eddy Merckx’s long-standing record for most Tour de France stage wins. For this year, at least.
The British rider, tied for 34 stage victories with Merckx, was beaten to the line by Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen in Paris. However, Cavendish’s third place was enough to secure him his second green jersey.
Merckx’s record has been in force since 1975, when he won a stage time trial in Auch, which earned him 35 stage victories in the race.
Cavendish’s remarkable comeback still included four stage wins in this year’s race – a huge achievement for a rider who looked almost ready to retire at the end of 2020.
At this point, he was without a contract and had not won a stage in the Tour de France since 2016, but a last-minute contract offer reached him from Patrick Lefevere.
Since joining the team, the British sprinter has won four stages of the Tour of Turkey, completing that race with a stage victory of the Tour of Belgium. However, he was only called up late for this year’s Tour de France after reigning green jersey Sam Bennett was ruled out due to injury.
His first victory in this year’s race came on stage 4 at Fougères, which he followed two days later with victory over stage 6 at Châteauroux. Other victories were won in Valence and Carcassonne in stages 10 and 13.
More soon…
Watch the sprint finish
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