Mark Cavendish has turned back the clock with an excellent stage win on the Tour de France; his first since 2016 after illness ruined recent seasons in his career.
He only got a contract this year to ride at WorldTour level after finding an investor to help fund his place in the top tier, which he only secured for one season.
The 36-year-old, who only got a start in the Tour with Deceuninck-QuickStep because Ireland's Sam Bennett was injured, was best in the bunch sprint that ended the 150.5km stage 4 from Redon to Fougères.
In a hectic sprint, Cavendish was positioned by his team and won ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea Samsic), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Fenix), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) and Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe).
He has also taken a big step forward in the points classification as he took 3rd in the intermediate sprint behind the two breakaway men today and he now has the green jersey on his shoulders.
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The finish today almost didn't come down to a bunch sprint after one of the breakaway men, Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal), put in a fantastic effort out front on his own and was only caught in the final 200 metres.
Van Moer had been clear with Pierre-Luc Périchon (Cofidis) but attacked him and distanced him with 14km to go. And while it was assumed both riders would be mopped up easily by the chasing bunch, Van Moer really went for broke and very nearly pulled it off.
Cavendish, who last won a Tour stage back in 2016 and now has 31 career stage wins on the race, was overcome with emotion at the finish. He did much of the work on his own, being brought to the front by his team but being on his own in the last 400 metres.
Philipsen moved a little in the road just before the line and Cavendish, who was behind him, had to change his line. But the British rider coped with that challenge, going around Philipsen the long way, around the outside as the road curve to the right.
Cavendish stuck to his task and drove for the line, winning it quite clearly in the end and completing what is an incredible comeback after being hit so hard by the Epstein Barr virus and almost drifting out of the sport last year when he was looking for a contract.
More to come.
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