After all the world of cycling, be that friends, family or rivals, rejoiced When Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) claimed his 35th Tour de France stage win in Saint Vulbas, perhaps the biggest reaction was from the great Eddy Merckx.
After all, the greatest cyclist of all time was the only man to have stood alongside Cavendish on a total of 34 Tour wins before yesterday’s historic stage, when the Manx Missile He pulled away from both Tour sprint groups to victory and Merckx for sole ownership of the record for stage victories.
When Cavendish equalled Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage wins in 2021, the cover ofThe teamThis morning, the French newspaper simply wrote: “Mark Cavendish, the cannibal.”
However, despite the French newspaper giving the famous nickname to Briton Merckx, there was only respect from the 79-year-old, who responded to the feat on social media.
“Congratulations to Mark Cavendish for this historic achievement! What a great guy who broke my record!” Merckx said in an Instagram story.
Merckx and Cavendish, of course, were very different in their methods, with the great Belgian taking victories on all types of stages, whether mountain days or time trials, en route to a record total of five Tour de France overall wins.
Not only was Cavendish quick to correct that it was “our record, not his record” when asked to give Merckx a message, but she also pointed out that 35 is just a number and nothing to take away from the greatest male cyclist of all time.
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“I love Eddy, he’s always been very kind to me. It was our record, not his record, but it’s a number,” Cavendish told VTM News“It’s not about stealing anything from the great Eddy Merckx, he’s just a number. Eddy Merckx is Eddy Merckx.”
Merckx stayed True to his word since 2021 who would congratulate Cavendish, despite his unwavering competitive nature even after retirement, and who had previously stated that The Sport Gazette that “will not keep him awake at night.”
And it is undoubtedly that shared nature of extreme competition that has brought him and Cavendish the most complete level of success. The fact that the Manxman is at the 2024 Tour de France at 39 is testament enough to his determination to win, especially after everything he has been through since serious illness, depression and the crash and broken collarbone at the 2023 Tour, where 35th place seemed so far away.
Cavendish and Merckx are now separated at the top of the Tour stage wins standings, but the Manx Missile certainly won’t be content with just one now that he has it.
Today’s stage in Dijon is the first opportunity to reach 36 stages, a figure that the cycling world had not dared to talk about… except Cavendish, who already knew what level he was at before yesterday’s victory and who was already dreaming of “36, 37, even 40 stages” before the race started. It was not about beating Merckx to stay on his own, but, as always, about beating himself.
Eddy Merckx congratulates Mark Cavendish on Instagram (Image credit: Eddy Merckx/Instagram)
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