Cav, From Cycling Rodeo Cowboy to the Best Sprinter of the Tour De France
Mark Cavendish is the most successful sprinter in Tour de France history. With 34 stage wins to his name, he equals the record of the goat, Eddy Merckx.
Sprinters are a rare breed. All day, over 200km, they ride in the peloton, with the single hope to unleash their power in the last 350 meters of a race. They are the rodeo cowboys of cycling. Eight seconds is often all it takes. A great lead out train is a must. These are three or four team mates who single file guide the sprinter at an ever increasing speed to the finish line. There is some pushing and shoulder leaning to keep the sprinter in position. The sprinters hang on in the slip stream until the very last moment. Bam! That’s when they go. Mark Cavendish is the best of them over the past two decades.
It has taken me many years to warm up to Cav. He was rarely graceful in his victories. He was always on edge. Tantrum boy. He fought with anyone who asked a pointed question. His sprints weren’t as clean as he wanted you to belief.
My view on Cav changed when two years ago, the godfather of the peloton, Patrick Lefevre, added him back to his squad, in extremis. Cavendish’s career was all but over, He was physically not in form either. And yet, Patrick picked him up, on a gut feeling he says. No big contract. Heck, no real salary to speak of. It was a way to retire in style.
The luck of the draw came when anothe sprinter, Sam Bennet, threw a fit. Officially he suffered from knee pain. Unofficially, he wanted to join a different team. This created a vacancy on the Quickstep tour selection and Mark Cavendish was all too happy to take it. One more time sprinting for glory (and bonuses).
After years in a downward spiral, the tour of 2021 changed it all when he sprinted for the win: tour stage win number 30. He would add three more and in the green jersey he equalized the record of Eddy Merckx. It was one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. Mark was grateful and showed a lot of grace. Finally.
Netflix’s Cavendish brings us the other side of the comeback, with the dark days, the family troubles, the mental and physical struggles. Hats off to a great warrior on two wheels.
What was next for Cavendish? He could have retired gloriously on the Champs Elysees. But that’s not the Mark Cavendish we got to know in the Netflix show. He continued on with the Astana team. He won another stage win in the Giro d’Italia and was ready for a final Tour de France, in search for that record breaking stage win. Except his retirement was cut short by a crash in the 2023 Tour de France. Cavendish fractured his collarbone in the crash and was forced to abandon the race.
I bet we will see him back, one more time.