Can Mark Cavendish win a 35th Tour de France stage at Astana?

British Mark Cavendish of Deceuninck QuickStep wearing the green jersey of leader in the sprint ranking and Former Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx pictured at the start of stage 19 of the 108th edition of the Tour de France cycling race from Mourenx to Libourne 207 km in France Friday 16 July 2021 This years Tour de France takes place from 26 June to 18 July 2021BELGA PHOTO DAVID STOCKMAN Photo by DAVID STOCKMANBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images
Mark Cavendish is one Tour de France stage win away from beating Merckx record (Image credit: David Stockman/AFP/Getty Images)

Mark Cavendish rides for Astana Qazaqstan. That statement might have seemed farfetched for much of last year, and blindingly obvious since December, but this week it was made official, and everyone can finally start looking ahead to July. 

Mark Cavendish, as if it needs repeating, finds himself on 34 Tour de France stage wins, tied for the all-time record with Eddy Merckx. One more would see him stand alone in the history books and provide a fairytale conclusion to an illustrious career. 

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.