FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 21 - Monaco to Nice - Monaco, France - July 21, 2024 Astana Qazaqstan Team's Mark Cavendish celebrates on the podium as he is presented with a jersey for his record 35th stage wins at the Tour de France REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
NICE, France (Reuters) - British cyclist Mark Cavendish has confirmed that he has taken part in his last Tour de France, having finally broken the all-time record for most stage wins at the Tour.
Cavendish had been level on 34 stage wins with Eddy Merckx since 2021 but this year he sprinted to victory on stage five to make the record his own, and now the 39-year-old can bow out in style.
"I think now it's time. I've done 15 Tours de France and I've created some incredible memories of the Tour de France," Cavendish told Reuters.
"This race has given me a life I could only dream of. It's given me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows."
Cavendish was able to relax in Sunday's final stage, an individual time trial from Monaco to Nice, a change from the usual sprint finish in Paris due to the upcoming Olympics in the French capital.
"This year was a different finish to normal. Normally, Tour de France has this incredible finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris and as a sprinter it's always pressure," Cavendish said.
"It's the world championships for sprinters on the Champs-Elysees so to get there you still have the pressure on the last day you still have to try and perform.
"A time trial is not something I have pressure for because I'm not going to win so I could really enjoy it. I was able to really enjoy the crowds and really enjoy, absorb what the Tour de France offers without any pressure on the last day."
Cavendish had announced his retirement last year but changed his mind in an attempt to go out the way he wanted having crashed at last year's Tour.
"Yeah we carried on. I love riding my bike. I'm so fortunate to get to do what I love as a job," he said.
"So I get to ride my bike for another year, I get to target the most incredible sporting event on the planet which is the Tour de France and I got to finish it off how I wanted so it was well worth it."
He may never ride another Tour, but cycling is definitely going to be a part of Cavendish's future.
"I'll never leave the sport that's for sure, I love cycling. It's given me what I have," Cavendish said.
"Right now I'm just going to spend time with my family as I do after every Tour de France."
(Writing by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
