A love letter to Cav
Mark Cavendish can cement his place as one of cycling’s greatest ever riders in the next few weeks.
The Manx Missile requires only one win to move clear as the Tour de France’s most prolific stage winner.
Just let that sink in. A lad who spent his formative years pedalling his BMX up Devonshire Road, before honing his craft at NSC’s Youth Cycling League is on the cusp of making history at one of world sport’s crown jewels.
The former Ballakermeen pupil currently sits level with Belgian great Eddy Merckx on 34 wins as he heads into the start of this year’s event in Bilbao on Saturday.
I think, as a nation, sometimes we are a bit blasé about Cav and his achievements, but to put it into context he is on the verge of becoming the Lionel Messi, Roger Federer or Lewis Hamilton of his sport.
Having had to sit out last year’s event after he wasn’t selected by previous team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s, Cav has the chance to repeat his heroics of 2021 over the next month with new team Astana Qazaqstan.
Two years ago Cav battled back from injury to claim a late call up for the event after team-mate Sam Bennett was struck down by his own injury.
Unsurprisingly for a man famed for his steely determination, he grabbed the opportunity and won four stages at the Tour and took the green jersey given to the rider with the most sprint points (becoming the first Brit to win it twice in the process).
He won in Châteauroux for a third time in his long career and then equaled Merckx’s record in Carcassonne.
It completed a remarkable turnaround for the Manxman whose glittering career looked to be undeservedly petering out at the start of that year.
Indeed his exploits at the 2021 Tour saw him nominated for the Comeback of the Year accolade at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.
The Tour de France is one of the most gruelling sporting events in the world, taking place over 21 stages totalling 3,404 kilometres over 23 days.
There’s eight ‘flat’ stages for the sprinters like Cav to salivate over, starting with stage three on Monday, when the tour passes into France from the ‘Grand Depart’ in Northern Spain.
This year’s route also includes eight leg-sapping mountain stages, four of which finish on the respective peaks’ summits. On those days Cav will be aiming to just avoid being over the time limit for the stage.
These exist essentially to keep things fair across the Tour, so riders can’t finish hours behind the stage winner in order to recover more, giving them an advantage over rivals who may have ridden harder consistently.
The 38-year-old announced his intention to hang up his cleats at the end of the season last month just before winning an emotional final stage at the Giro d’Italia.
His legacy stretches beyond a glorious record that includes 54 ‘Grand Tour’ stage wins (which puts him third in the all-time list), a world championship title, Commonwealth Gold, an Olympic medal, an MBE and the freedom of Douglas.
He has inspired countless Manx children, and adults, to take up cycling, promoted the island on a global scale throughout this career and supported aspiring Manx sportsmen and women through his Cavendish Foundation.
No matter what happens in France or indeed the rest of the season, Cav will always be the GOAT of Manx sport for the latter achievements as much as the former ones.
