Mark Cavendish has written Tour de France history.
The 39-year-old Briton now has 35 stage wins in the classic cycling competition – more than anyone else in history.
Sprint specialist Mark Cavendish looked like he was trapped as the peloton approached the finish line in Saint-Vulbas, but the Briton was ice-cold and finally got the gap. Then no one could stop Cavendish from making history.
With the win on the fifth and 177.4-kilometer-long stage of this year's Tour de France, the 39-year-old now has 35 stage wins in the cycling classic.
It was a big gamble for the team that I would be there to take this stage win, and now we did it, says Cavendish, who won his last stage in 2021, in Eurosport's broadcast.
Just over a year ago, Cavendish announced that he would retire after the 2023 season, but he chose to invest another year after being forced to abandon last year's Tour de France. Then he broke his collarbone during the eighth stage.
Previously, Cavendish shared the record with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx, who won 34 stages between 1969 and 1975. Cavendish has never won the overall standings in the competition, but Merckx won the Tour de France five times during his career.
Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar still leads the overall standings in this year's competition.