‘It was just classic Cav’
Three key figures from Mark Cavendish’s career react to his 35th Tour de France stage win
Just like any other key moment in British history, cycling fans will remember where they were when Mark Cavendish crossed the finish line to take his record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win in Saint-vulbas in the heart of the Ain department.
Hundreds of miles away in northern England, Tour of Britain race director Rod Ellingworth was getting twitchy on the sofa as the peloton tore into the final kilometre with Cavendish locked onto Jasper Philipsen’s back wheel.
“Myself and the family were jumping around with 500-600 metres to go,” Ellingworth told Cycling Weekly. “Afterwards my initial reaction was just being in awe of what he had done.
“There was that moment afterwards when he walked back down through the peloton and everyone was hugging him or high-fiving him, or shaking his hand.
“I think that just shows you how special that was, not just for him, but also for the other riders to be a part of.”
Never say never
Ellingworth coached Cavendish at the British Cycling Academy in the early noughties and is credited for developing him into a pro rider. “A lot of people said to me in the lead up, ‘Do you think he can do it?’ and my answer was you can never say no with Mark,” Ellingworth added. “I spoke to him on Tuesday before the race started and he said he felt really good, training had gone really well, he had been doing plenty of work and he was ready for it.
“One thing he does have over everybody is experience. It’s split-second decision making in sprinting, the moment you touch or feather the brakes you’re finished, but when Cav’s on it and he’s prepared to take the risks, there’s nobody else like him.
“That was the thing with his stage win, he was prepared to take the risks. I could see that from a good few kilometres out and I just thought, right, it’s game on now.”
Meanwhile Marcel Kittel, a longtime rival of the Manxman, referred to the landmark win as “classic Cav”. Kittel was at Eurobike in Frankfurt, but managed to pull himself away from the event in order to catch the racing in his hotel room.
“I only saw the last kilometres,” Kittel told Cycling Weekly. “I think he did an amazing job. It wasn’t gifted to him at all, he really had to fight for it.
“In my eyes, the dominant sprinter of the day, Philipsen, didn’t even have the speed to
match him. He launched his sprint at the same second, but he didn’t have the speed to even get to his rear wheel. It was such a dominant display from Cavendish last week, it was just classic Cav.”
Going strong
“Absolutely, yeah,” Kittel added when asked if he felt Cavendish could win again in the flat stages to come. “I saw a dominant Mark Cavendish. I think he is stronger than what we expected before the Tour.
His win was so convincing, so I think he could keep winning now.”
Cavendish’s former team manager, Brian Holm, was also watching on from home in Denmark. Holm said he did not “over-celebrate” in his lounge as he briefly feared his result might not stand after a hectic finale.
“He was amazing,” Holm said. “He was like he was back in 2009 when he was at his best. I think there are more sprinters, good sprinters today than there were 10-15 years back. Back in the good old days it was mainly Tyler Farrar or Thor Hushovd so for me it was bigger today.”
Holm echoed Kittel’s
“HE WAS DOMINANT LAST WEEK, STRONGER THAN EXPECTED – THEY COULDN’T MATCH HIM”
belief that Cavendish can now keep up his winning form in the coming days.
“Of course he could win again, now he’s got going,” he said. “Everyone saw what happened in 2021, never say never, but he’s up against some good fighters now, the competition is bigger.
Comeback king
“When I saw it I did not do a big celebration, because I think 10-15 years ago they might have disqualified him.
“I saw what was happening and I got a little nervous of the French commissaires. If they’re in a bad mood that day then you never know what could happen. I think what they did was correct, but we’ve seen strange things from them in the past.”
Holm revealed that despite the significance of his former charge’s win, his comeback in 2021 had hit home harder.
“Personally I was more emotional when he came back in 2021 with Quick Step,” he explained. “I think the first stage he won was in
“OF COURSE HE COULD WIN AGAIN NOW THAT HE HAS GOT GOING”
Châteauroux after being out for almost two years. He went back to Quick Step for another big contract, everyone was laughing at us for taking him back and then he started winning.
“Every year was always the same and it’s still always the same with Mark. Every year people write him off and every year he comes back and wins again. That’s just classic Cav though, I guess.”