End of career announced: Cavendish retires at the end of 2023
DPA
· 22.05.2023
Tour de France record stage winner Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) will end his cycling career at the end of the 2023 season, the Brit announced at a press conference on the second rest day of the 2023 Giro d'Italia.
Mark Cavendish announces end of career one day after birthday
"Cycling has been my life for more than 25 years. I have lived an absolute dream. It's the perfect time to say that it's my last Giro d'Italia and that 2023 will be my last season as a professional cyclist," said Cavendish one day after his 38th birthday.
The sprinter took 161 professional victories in his 17-year career, including the 2011 World Championship title in Copenhagen, the spring classic Milan-San Remo and a total of 53 stage wins in the three grand tours. In the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish holds the record with 34 stage wins together with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.
Mark Cavendish wants sole record at Tour de France
In the summer, Mark Cavendish, who rides for the Kazakh Astana racing team, could become the sole record winner in his possible 14th Tour participation. However, records are not his priority. "Even if I had 45 wins, I would still go to the Tour de France to win," he said.
However, Cavendish has been waiting a good year for a victory. His last success came at the 2022 British Road Cycling Championships, and his best result so far at the 2023 Giro d'Italia was a third place on the eleventh stage, when Pascal Ackermann from the Palatinate won.
In addition to Mark Cavendish, other riders who have shaped the sport for more than a decade will end their road cycling careers this autumn. Former Tour de France bronze medallist Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) is retiring, as is Rio Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën Team). Three-time world champion Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) will only be riding his mountain bike in 2024.
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