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Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep) explained his reasoning behind an incident at the start of stage 19 of the Tour de France in which he shouted as a team mechanic before rushing off and heading for the bus from the ‘team.
The British sprinter, who has high hopes of breaking Eddy Merckx’s Tour de France stage record of 34 wins in Paris on Sunday, was caught on camera giving the mechanic due to a problem with the forward of his motorbike before the stage in Libourne.
The incident was not only filmed but seen by fans who came to the Tour to get a glimpse of the professional riders before the start of the stage.
Cavendish, a sprinter who wears his heart on his sleeve and is well known for his meticulous nature when it comes to gear and set-up, stopped before publicly apologizing and said “we have now spoken.” He took to Instagram to add context to his outburst and admitted his frustrating reaction shouldn’t have happened.
“Many of you will have seen the video since the start of today’s stage,” he wrote.
“During one day of the Tour de France, as riders, we were put in a perilous situation and I wanted my bike to be perfect, in order to help me stay safe. My bike had some issues when I rode it this morning. Despite this, I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did and not so publicly.
“I have been an extremely close friend of my mechanics for over a decade and they have worked tirelessly to ensure that I have always been safe and successful. While they know how small I can be when I’m stressed, no one, especially the ones you love, deserve to have their voice raised.
“Truly, one of the biggest factors in the success of Deceuninck-QuickStep is that we are a family, that we love and care for each other, and conversations have to be kept within that family.”
“We have now talked about what happened and as a group the Wolfpack will do their best to successfully complete the Tour de France 2021.”
The message was accompanied by a photo of Cavendish and the mechanic which he both scolded with a smile.
Mark Cavendish, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/lls0NyJofMJuly 16, 2021
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