Cycling
Resignation from retirement: Cavendish carries on after all
Still hanging on for another year: Mark Cavendish. photo
© Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
The former world champion actually wanted to end his career this year. Now the British cycling star is making another attempt at the tour record.
Retirement from retirement: The cycling star who retired from the Tour de France after a fall Mark Cavendish is now continuing his career. The 38-year-old, who actually wanted to retire this year, extended his contract with the Astana team until the end of 2024.
The Kazakh racing team announced this. The former world champion is making another attempt to become the sole record winner with another stage win on the Tour. Cavendish and cycling legend Eddy Merckx lead the rankings for the most stage wins with 34 successes each.
“I was looking forward to not getting up in the morning and training every day and being away from home for a long time. I love cycling, I love the races, but I was happy with the decision. But a crash at the Tour de France was not the end to my career that I had hoped for,” said Cavendish. The Briton fell on the eighth stage of the Tour this year and suffered a broken collarbone.
U-turn after Tour crash
Immediately after the crash, team boss Alexander Vinokurov offered him a contract extension, which Cavendish now accepted. “A true champion shouldn’t stop like that. I asked Mark if in a few years he won’t regret his decision not to try again. I think he’s thought about it seriously,” said Vinokurov, adding: “It “It won’t be easy to improve on the record he shares with Eddy Merckx. It would be a historic achievement. We have a chance and we’ll try.”
Cavendish is entering his 18th professional season. He once started his career in the T-Mobile team. The sprinter has 162 professional victories in his career, only Merckx has more successes (275). In addition to his 34 Tour successes, Cavendish also won 17 stages at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Vuelta.