Tourreporter
Stage 3 of the Tour de France offers the sprinters their first chance at a stage win. For Mark Cavendish, the hunt for a lonely record begins.
It’s relaxed moments for Mark Cavendish when he gets off the team bus in the morning: The direct route leads him to the fans at the barrier, who are excitedly shouting “Mark, Mark”. Then he writes autographs, poses for selfies, hugs acquaintances. There is no sign of tension, no weight of the story that he could write on this tour.
The best sprinter in history
Cavendish is now 38 years old. At the end of the season he will end his cycling career. And it is no exaggeration to say that he is the best sprinter in the history of cycling. The Briton has clinched 162 victories since his professional debut in 2007. He was world champion in 2011, won the spring classic Milan-Sanremo in 2009 and various other races. But now it’s all about that one win.
The man from the Isle of Man only has to roll over the finish line of a stage jubilantly once more, then he would have celebrated a total of 35 stage wins since his first day’s success in 2008. That would be a new record, he shares the old one with the legendary Eddy Merckx. People sometimes forget that when they ask Cavendish what it would mean for him to break Merckx’s record. “Our record,” he then corrects.
But Cavendish has – at least publicly – no answer to the question itself. At the press conference before the start of the Tour de France, he thought for 30 seconds, only to say, “Honestly, I don’t know, sorry.” All he cares about is winning as much as he can.
Winning has become more difficult lately
He always did it that way, everything else just came along. But recently it has been more difficult to win again. After his success at the British Championships in June last year, he went eleven months without a win.
QuickStep left him out at the 2022 Tour de France and instead nominated a younger world-class sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen. And that despite the fact that last year he managed to win those four stages that put him on a par with Eddy Merckx. There was also the green jersey for the best sprinter. A fairy tale – after five years without success in France, after illnesses, injuries and depression.
Astana shelters Cavendish
Last winter it even seemed like Cavendish’s career was already over. He didn’t get a new contract with QuickStep, the French team he wanted to stay with lost the announced sponsors and thus the financing. And Cavendish suddenly found himself without a team. Until Team Astana finally gave him shelter. A team that had not been interested in sprinters until then.
Since then, the sprints have been correspondingly difficult for Cavendish. Most of the time he’s on his own in the finals and has to find the right rear wheel himself. That often didn’t work. At the Giro d’Italia in May, however, he achieved his first victory in the new team on the last stage when nobody was expecting it anymore. However, he also received support from Geraint Thomas, traveling for another team but an old friend. But the sprint itself was a showpiece by the old master.
Former approacher Renshaw as an advisor
Cavendish should never be written off, it has been said in the peloton ever since. But Cavendish cannot count on outside help like in the Giro in the Tour de France. That’s why he got an old companion on board shortly before the Grand Départ. Australian Mark Renshaw, 40, who mentored him in the sprints for years, now officially serves as the team’s sprint advisor.
Mark Renshaw (left) and Mark Cavendish at the 2016 Tour de France
Renshaw should now take a closer look at the finals of the sprint stages, give tips and develop the right strategy. “We raced together, he knows how I would drive the final. And that hasn’t changed,” says Renshaw about his role, which also has a psychological component: “If I give him my assessment, he doesn’t have to do a second thought or evaluate the information. He trusts me.”
Bol should approach Cavendish for the sprints
On the road, however, Cavendish has to rely on others. Especially Cees Bol, 27. A tall Dutchman who himself was second on a stage of the Tour in 2020, only beaten by one of cycling’s stars – Belgian Wout van Aert. Now Bol should start the sprints for Cavendish.
The starter and his sprinter have to be a well-rehearsed team if they are to make the right decisions at 60 km/h and more in the finale. This takes time, which is no longer available. “It’s hard to say how far we’ve come,” says Bol: “I already know what he wants, that’s not the difficult part. But to implement it, transfer it to the race and decode the strategies of the other teams – that’s the beauty of sprints, but that’s also the hard part.”
No time for sentimentality
Cavendish and Bol have eight chances on paper to complete their respective plans. The first chance is probably already on the 3rd stage to Bayonne, when the tour reaches France after two days in the Spanish Basque country. And on Tuesday (July 4th, 2023) on the 4th stage, probably the second.
3rd stage: Amorebieta-Etxano – Bayonne (193.5 km)* right arrow 4th stage: Dax – Nogaro (182 km) right arrow
Cavendish is in the Tour de France for the last time as a professional cyclist, but he has no time for sentimentality. “Now I have to do my job first,” he says: “The tour offers you the most incredible feelings, but you can only really appreciate it afterwards.” That one win – the record stage win – would certainly make it easier for him.
