Mark Cavendish may have broken the all-time Tour de France stage-win record on this year's edition of the race - to bring his tally to 35 wins - but it seems that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye.
He teamed up with Astana Qazaqstan - led by convicted doper Alexander Vinokourov as general manager - to try and take one final stage victory after taking four in 2021, bringing him equal with Eddy Merckx on 34 career wins.
And though Cavendish's plans were put on hold last year, when he crashed out of the Tour with a broken collarbone, he came back this season and won stage 5 into Saint Vulbas.
Now aged 39 years, this looks certain to be the Manx rider's final Tour de France. He finished in the final group on the road today on stage 20 to Col de la Couillole. He was 42:03 down in that four-man group, which also included his team mates Harold Tejada, Davide Ballerini and Cees Bol.
After the finish line, realising it would be the last Tour road race stage he would ever ride, he burst into tears with his team mates, as the videos below show.
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Sir Mark Cavendish ?❤️
Congratulations for finishing your last Tour de France, you can now enjoy tomorrow's last stage! We are going to miss you, a legend of our sport?? #TDF2024 l @MarkCavendish pic.twitter.com/4nKXwbHsv9
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2024
An emotional Sir Mark Cavendish finishes Stage 20 of the 2024 Tour de France ? pic.twitter.com/7dkrmu0t1Z
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 20, 2024
?? VIDEO: @LeTour
We did it! @MarkCavendish and his teammates finished Stage 20 inside the time cut and accomplished our main goal - to reach Monaco and Nice! #TDF2024 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/EvcHmbpbhT
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) July 20, 2024
