All hail the king of the sprinters

Cavendish’s peers and rivals pay tribute to the sprinter as he takes his Tour-winning total to 32

- Peter Cossins

Riders from across the peloton paid tribute to Mark Cavendish’s return to blistering Tour de France stage-winning form last week.

“This race is where you measure yourself as a professional cyclist, so for Cav to have come back and won another stage of the Tour is just phenomenal. He’ll probably win another one in the next few days,” Chris Froome correctly prophesised the morning after Mark Cavendish had claimed his first Tour de France stage victory since 2016.

While there was widespread surprise when the 36-year-old sprinter was drafted into the Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Tour team in the days leading up to the race after Sam Bennett suffered a knee injury, that surprise shared by the Manxman himself, the fact that Cavendish then went on to extend his almost unparalleled run of success wasn’t so much of a shock to former and current rivals. “It’s the same as it’s always been.

If you can find a good position you get the chance to show that you’re fastest. I don’t think experience matters all that much,” Cavendish’s long-time rival and former teammate André Greipel told CW.