Withdrawal from retirement: Cavendish continues after all
DPA
· 04.10.2023
Retirement from retirement: Cycling star Mark Cavendish, who retired from the Tour de France after a crash, is now continuing his career after all. The 38-year-old, who actually wanted to retire this year, has extended his contract with the Astana team until the end of 2024.
Mark Cavendish aims for sole Tour de France record
This was announced by the Kazakh racing team. The former world champion is thus making another attempt to become the sole record winner of the Tour with another stage victory. Cavendish and cycling legend Eddy Merckx lead the rankings for the most stage wins with 34 each.
"I was looking forward to not getting up in the morning and training every day and being so far away from home for a long time. I love cycling, I love the races, but I was happy with the decision. But crashing in the Tour de France wasn't the career ending I was hoping for," said Cavendish. The Briton crashed on the eighth stage of the Tour this year and suffered a broken collarbone.
U-turn after Tour de France crash
Immediately after the crash, team boss Alexander Vinokourov offered him a contract extension, which Cavendish accepted. "A true champion shouldn't stop like this. I asked Mark if he wouldn't regret his decision not to give it another go in a few years' time. I think he has given it some serious thought," said Vinokourov and added: "It won't be easy to improve on the record he shares with Eddy Merckx. It would be a historic achievement. We have a chance and we'll try."
This will be Cavendish's 18th professional season. He once started his career in the T-Mobile team. The sprinter has 162 professional victories in his career, only Merckx has more successes (275). In addition to his 34 Tour victories, Cavendish also won 17 stages at the Giro d'Italia and three at the Vuelta.
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