Historic day at the Tour de France with the 35th stage victory of the British Mark Cavendish (Astana), surpassing the legendary Eddy Merckx, with whom he shared the record with 34. A feat for the 39-year-old “Manx Express”, the same one who retired in 2023 after a fall and prolonged his career to write this golden page.
Glory to Cavendish, happy, euphoric, floating on a sweet cloud after raising his arms as the winner of the already historic fifth stage between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint Vulbas, 177.4 km long, despite the fact that he crossed the finish line with his chain broken and hanging.
He beat Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin) and Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Uno X) with a work of art and a chaotic finish, giving the peloton time in 4h.08.46, at an average of 42.8 km/h. He opened his arms to the entire universe, an 18-year career as a professional, with 165 victories.
Another golden page, unrepeatable, for a classic that also has 17 stage wins in the Giro d’Italia, a World Championship in 2011, the Milan San Remo and 2 green jerseys in the Tour.
Disbelief
A long and successful life for an old rock star of world cycling, who won his first Tour de France in 2008 with Team Columbia. He was retired, thought about it, decided to extend his career for a year, and his dream came true. The best sprinter in the world has surpassed the record of the best cyclist of all time.
“I can’t believe it. Astana did everything to come to the Tour, they needed a stage, and as my director, he knows the Tour, we have achieved it. We made a team for this. I broke my shoulder last year, this year I was suffering, but I am doing very well, it is my fifteenth Tour and I have taken the opportunity. I couldn’t be happier,” said “Cav” through tears.
While Cavendish was enjoying his holiday with his family, Pogacar climbed onto the podium to put on the yellow leader’s jersey. A day of transition for the men in the general classification. Evenepoel is 45 seconds behind, Vingegaard 50, Juan Ayuso 1.10 minutes behind, Roglic 1.14, Carlos Rodríguez 1.16 and Mikel Landa 1.32.
After the storm unleashed by Pogacar on the Galibier, and by Ayuso after his teammate Almeida reproached him in the middle of the race for not taking over, the “holy” stage between Saint Jean and Saint Vulbas became a formality for the men in the general classification, an option for the sprinters and a utopia for the quixotic adventurers.
The leader of the classification
The Tour is embracing Pogacar’s rise to power, celebrating Vingegaard’s good form and hoping for rebellion from men like Evenepoel and Carlos Rodríguez. Spanish cycling has three men in the top 10, including Ayuso and Landa, which are a welcome sight in the absence of those leaders of yesteryear.
The stage had the added attraction of the initial challenge, which was completely illusory, with local riders, two Frenchmen from Lyon: Clément Russo (Groupama) and Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies), who extended their dream territory to the Ain department, neighbouring the Rhône. Both representatives of two teams that have not won in the Tour for at least 5 years.
The peloton looked the other way, but as they could not rest on their laurels, Philipsen’s Alpecin and Pedersen’s Lidl took turns to control the duo in the breakaway. The pace of the stage was only disturbed 58km from the finish by a crash caused by Pogacar, who made a desperate manoeuvre when he was about to swallow a sign, dragging along several riders, including Pello Bilbao and Nelson Oliveira.
Heavy rain
In the rain, messages from the directors’ cars to the cyclists’ ears were of caution: “Be careful, heavy rain and strong wind, let’s stay calm and be careful.”
The autumnal atmosphere suddenly returned, as the downpour turned the road into a skating rink on the way to Cota de Lhuis (4a, 3km at 4.9), where the peloton met up again before the summit to begin the process of approaching the finish.
The spotlight was once again on Cavendish for his chance of a 35th victory, which would give him the record ahead of Merckx, and the sprinter teams were battling to position their “cheetahs”. Astana for the “Manx Express”, DSM for Jakobsen… entering well positioned on the endless straight of Saint Vulbas, a town of just 1,250 inhabitants, was key.
Favorites
The favourites “finished” the stage 4km from the finish, where the safety zone was advanced in sprint finishes, the others had to prepare the final pack. Many contenders, nerves, a fall that affected Pedersen, one of the favourites, and an incredible manoeuvre by Cavendish.
The Briton was not well positioned 200 metres from the finish line, but he looked from one side to the other, zig-zagged, came out of a corral and took off, overtaking all his rivals. His chain broke, but his momentum carried him to glory. Record of 35 victories. Ahead of Merckx. Hats off to you, Mark.
The sixth stage, between Mâcon and Dijon, will take place on Thursday, 163.5 km, another day for the sprinters to get into action.
Paris / EFE
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2024-07-04 13:14:10