Mark Cavendish sprints to fifth stage win at Tour de Francethe Saint Jean de Maurienne-Saint Vulbas of 177 km. The British Astana hits record 35th success at the Grande Boucle, preceding in the sprint the Belgian Jesper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility).
The Isle of Man sprinter has become the rider to have won the most stages in the history of the Grande Bouclewith 35 victories he surpasses the ‘Cannibal’ Eddy Merckx by one. ‘Cannonball’ had already announced his retirement in 2023, but then postponed it precisely to reach this historic milestone.
“I’m incredulous, it’s something unique. Astana made a big bet on this victory, on this day. We made a bet to come here and win this stage, we showed what the Tour de France is, we did what we wanted to do”, dice Cavendish. “Today was the day we had counted on. I know how to prepare for a Tour, I knew we had an opportunity, I knew it would end like this. The guys did exactly what we wanted to do,” adds.
