Cycling veteran Mark Cavendish said on Friday he has “nothing to lose” as he targets a record 35th Tour de France stage win to pull clear of Belgian legend Eddy Merckx. The Manx Missile, who was given a knighthood by King Charles III this month, has 34 Tour stage wins over his career, the same as Merckx. The 39-year-old failed in a similar bid in 2023 when a high speed crash left him crying and stricken on the tarmac, such is the destiny of sprinters, he said at the time.
“I believe I’m in better shape this year than I was last year,” Cavendish said in Florence on the eve of Saturday’s departure. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could do it.” The ageing British sprinter is back at the Tour as the subject of his own Netflix documentary on his personal quest for one last stage win before riding off into the sunset.
But the prickly former Sky and Quick Step speed king has proven he can come back from most anything, including the energy and morale sapping Epstein-Barr virus. Merckx won his 34th Tour stage in 1975, a record Cavendish matched in 2021. “When the opportunity comes, you try and make more history,” said Cavendish.
“Here, I’m just trying to win more. Look, I don’t have anything to lose, and realistically, there are five or six chances for that extra win. “I know the work that goes into being at the highest level.
I’m a realistic person and we go in with a plan and will set that in motion.” Cavendish signed with Team Astana two .