Mark Cavendish, one of Britain's most successful cyclists, will retire at the end of the season. In 2021 he equalled the legendary Eddy Merckx's record of 34 Tour de France stage victories. During a news conference at the Giro d'Italia, Cavendish, 38, said: "Cycling has been my life for over 25 years. "It's taught me so much about life, dedication, loyalty, sacrifice and perseverance - all important things to pass on now as a father." He added: "The bike's given me opportunities to see the world, meet incredible people who are involved and not involved in the sport - a lot of whom I call friends. "Today it's my son Casper's fifth birthday; it's a rest day and I can spend that with them now. Now it's important to be there for every birthday, every school concert - important I can be there for them."
A real one-off is Mark Cavendish, a great character and wonderful sprinter, he wasn't called the Manx Missile for nothing. Not sure whether he will get the chance to beat Merckx's record, but still a superb career.
Not sure JEX... he came so close to beating it in the TDF last year... and without a big team behind him... I suspect, one might just be lined up for him in the early stages, flatter stages this year.,..
Amazing rider, and his speciality has a lot of inherent risk so he's had a lot of bad crashes. I'm sure he's got a few scars to show his grandkids one day. Hope he breaks the record.
He’s an absolutely fearless rider, and would have been a national hero if his accomplishments had been in a more mainstream sport. My heart would love him to win another stage of the TdF, but my head says he won’t even be there, sadly.
Maybe I dont recall correctly.... didn't he have a major crash when in the sprint for the win in Sheffield when the TDF started in the UK...
It was stage one in 2014 in Harrogate I think. A more critical man than me could interpret the ‘fearless’ in my previous post as ‘suicidally reckless’. There’s no doubt that crashes and injuries robbed him of the chance to break the record earlier in his career, but it’s also debatable to say the least whether he’d have got the wins he has if he’d been more careful. Sprinters in cycling are a breed apart and, to me, he’s the best there’s been.
I thought once, never made that mistake again. The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
Hope he doesnt lose all his wins some years from now like many others did. I used to watch but now there's to many cheaters and lost interest.
I wasn't sure whether he is going to be picked to ride in the TDF, I hope he has a chance, would be a nice finale to his career.
