Sir Mark Cavendish took a record-breaking 35th career Tour de France stage win with victory on Stage 5 in Saint-Vulbas.
Three years after matching Eddy Merckx during the 2021 Tour, Cavendish moved clear of the Belgian to stand alone in Tour history.
But the sprint finish meant no change to the overall standings, in which UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar leads Remco Evenepoel by 45 seconds, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in third, a further five seconds back.
Manxman Cavendish used all of his experience to navigate a hectic finish to the 177km stage from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, coming off the wheels of his rival and holding off Jasper Philipsen to take a historic victory that prompted tearful celebrations.
The 39-year-old postponed his planned retirement after crashing out of last year’s Tour, with his Astana-Qazaqstan team going all-in on “Project 35" ahead of this year’s race.
His victory comes just four days after Cavendish struggled mightily in the heat of a punishing opening stage out of Florence, vomiting on the bike in concerning scenes, and two days after he missed the opportunity to contest Stage 3 after being caught behind a late crash in Turin.
Cavendish said: “I’m in a little bit of disbelief. Astana put a big gamble on this year to make sure we’re good here at the Tour, my boss has done it.
“It’s a big gamble to come here to try to win at least one stage, a big gamble for my boss Alexander Vinokourov, a big thing to do, it shows he’s an ex-bike rider, somebody who knows what the Tour de France is.
“You have to go all-in and we’ve done it and worked it exactly how we wanted to do, how we built the team, the equipment, every little detail has been put towards today.”
Cavendish’s four stage wins in 2021 counted as one of sport’s great comeback stories, his first victories at the Tour in five years after a period of time marked by illness and injury, which contributed to a diagnosis of depression.
Even since those wins three years ago, Cavendish has endured more difficulty, only signing a last-minute deal with Astana-Qazaqstan ahead of the 2023 season after the collapse of another move, then seeing last year’s Tour end abruptly with a broken collarbone on Stage 8.
But since the moment he confirmed he would return this season, all of Cavendish’s focus and that of his team has been on this moment.
Over the winter they brought in Michael Morkov and Davide Ballerini – riders who had helped him to those victories in 2021 – and poured their resources into tailoring his equipment – even down to the detail of using time-trial water bottles on his bike to aid aerodynamics.
His Astana-Qazaqstan teammates moved to the front of the peloton at the top of a category 4 climb that peaked 30km from the end of the stage, and stayed there until the final kilometre.
As the finish line neared, Cavendish left the wheel of Morkov to follow Philipsen and then Fabio Jakobsen, then turned on the power when the road opened up to his left, with nobody able to follow. Sixteen years after winning his first Tour stage, nobody could deny him a 35th.
Cavendish’s wife Peta and their children were waiting at the team bus and joined in emotional celebrations that reflected the huge amount of work that has gone into this moment.
Pogacar’s victory on Tuesday’s Stage 4 was the 12th Tour stage win of his career, putting him level with the soon-to-retire Peter Sagan in second place on the rankings among active riders – the huge gulf speaking to the scale of Cavendish’s achievement.
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
