AOld star Mark Cavendish took advantage of his great opportunity before the queen stage on Mont Ventoux and is about to set the age-old record by Eddy Merckx. The Brit sprinted to his 33rd stage win in the Tour de France on Tuesday, just one success behind the cycling legend from Belgium.
“I hardly did anything except to drive the last few meters fast,” he said modestly at the finish, thereby paying tribute to the strong achievements of his teammates. “That was the old school, that was a perfect journey for my team – it was what you’d expect in a textbook, ”Cavendish said seriously. His racing team Deceuninck-Quick-Step had ideally prepared the final after 190.7 kilometers from the Olympic site Albertville to Valence on Tuesday. Cavendish himself then finished by beating the two Belgians Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen. “I’m not going for the green jersey, I’m going for stage wins. And that’s how I collect the points for the jersey, ”said Cavendish.
The former world champion is becoming more and more the star of this 108th tour of France alongside the yellow card holder and defending champion Tadej Pogacar. After his victories in Fougères, Châteauroux and Valence, there will also be further opportunities to not only catch up with Merckx, but also to become the sole record holder for daily victories in the world’s most important cycling race as early as 2021.
Meanwhile, Merckx is calmly following Cavendish’s triumphant advance. “It doesn’t cost me any sleep. Records are there to be broken, ”the 76-year-old Belgian said last time. After all, many of his bests are out of reach for Cavendish: “Mark Cavendish will never win the Tour de France five times. And he will never drive in yellow for 96 days. And what is the most important thing? “
After the sprint show by veteran Cavendish, which was preceded by a nervous stage, the focus should be completely on the new tour dominator Pogacar on Wednesday. The Slovenian duped the entire competition in the Alps last weekend and is considered to be the hottest contender for the next big coup on the difficult stage, where the legendary Mont Ventoux in Provence is crossed twice on Wednesday.
In contrast to the hard and cold Alpine stages at the weekend, the next series of corona tests did not result in any consequences for the field. 164 out of 165 drivers were able to continue the race at the start of the second week of the Tour, only the German Jonas Koch was unable to start because of an illness that was not specified. “Unfortunately, Jonas Koch was ill for the past two days and will not appear at the start of the 10th stage,” said his Intermarché-Wanty Gobert team.
Primoz Roglic, plagued by a fall, has not been there since the weekend. The Jumbo Visma professional was considered to be one of the top favorites for yellow, after he narrowly had to admit defeat to his compatriot Tadej Pogacar in 2020. If sporting director Merijn Zeeman has his way, Roglic will make another attempt next year. “He’ll be returning to the tour next year. This is the race he wants to show that he is number one in the world. He will come back, “said Zeeman the specialist portal” Cyclingnews “.
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