By Julien Pretot
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) – Mark Cavendish has the opportunity to improve the record of stage wins on the Tour de France he shares with Belgian great Eddy Merckx but the Briton is still struggling to get to grips with the idea as he embarks on his last campaign.
The 38-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, won his first Tour stage in 2008 before equalling Merckx on 34 last year in Carcassonne and in this year’s edition he will have at least half a dozen stages to add one more to his collection.
Asked about the record, Cavendish paused for a good 30 seconds, and shrugged. Depending on his mood, he can answer angrily, or try to avoid the topic.
“In all honesty I don’t know. I’m just going to try to win as much as I can. I’m sorry,” Cavendish, who joined the Astana Qazaqstan team from Quick Step Alpha Vinyl during the close season, told a news conference on Thursday.
The Manxman came close to retiring in 2020 but eventually carried on to push for another three years and, despite Saturday being his last Grand Depart on the Tour, he will not have time to enjoy his final ride in France.
“I thought about it and unfortunately no (I can’t be emotional), I’ve still got a job to do and I know I’ll regret that but the whole experience of the Tour de France is something you can’t describe,” Cavendish said.
“This race gives you the most incredible emotions but you can’t really appreciate them at the time. But I’ll definitely appreciate them later.”
Security has been the talk of the peloton lately after the death of Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse earlier this month and the bunch sprints will again come with their share or risks.
“At the end of the day we’re all human beings, we all know the risks going into cycling and sprinting, you never look forward to the risks involved that’s for sure but we’re also professional athletes and bunch sprints are part of the game and you have to make sure to be in the best position in the front,” Cavendish said.
The Tour starts in Bilbao on Saturday.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
