Mark Cavendish it is already a legend in the Tour of Francia. The 36-year-old made history at the Grande Boucle after taking the victory in Carcassonne (his fourth in the 2021 edition) and equaling the record of 34 victories of the legendary Eddy Merckx. The Spanish Iván García Cortina, from Movistar, came close to victory in the final sprint, which ended with a Cavendish who, together with the legendary Belgian cyclist, is already the one with the most stage victories in the French round. Pogacar continues to command with authority in the general.
After almost two weeks of poisoned attacks that have honored old-fashioned cycling that did not depend on technology, this Friday, July 9, smelled like a quiet stage in a Tour of Francia that in its first twelve days it has broken all kinds of records. For those who do not know, in this Big loop they are reaching an average speed of 70 km / h. Something never thought of in a cycling round that usually punishes cyclists who sin with anxiety in the first days with lead in their pockets. Therefore, after all the shootings in the last stages, in the little more than 200 kilometers between Nimes and Carcassonne it seemed there was going to be peace. Additionally, the spectacular medieval scenery of one of France’s most beautiful cities was ripe for a quiet finale for Cavendish to add to his legend by equaling Eddy Merckx’s 34 French round victories. Big words.
The idea of the peloton was to save legs and that this stage would only be remembered for the Cavendish milestone, but, as has been happening in recent days, everything started to go crazy. Alex Aranburu He was one of the first to move the hornet’s nest with the intention of winning the stage with 64 kilometers to go. In just over two minutes there was a leak that was expected to be neutralized so that the majority of runners were completely calm. All until four kilometers later there was a massive fall that was reminiscent of the first stage but that did not have fatal consequences for the first generals. Yes for names like Poels, Tao o De Clercq, who lost the group between bumps and bruises. Minutes later it was reported that Simon Yates had been harmed by the montonera and was leaving the Tour de France.
Even with just over 30 kilometers to go Cavendish gave the scare having to change bikes due to a mechanical problem. This was going to give him a hot flush not necessary for his date with history. At least there wasn’t a leak ahead. At 33 of goal, tranquility returned and only Quentin Parcher he was ahead of the pack just over 40 seconds. So everything indicated that the race was going to be decided again in the sprint and Cavendish and Van Aert were the top favorites to win at Carcassonne.
Battle of roosters in Carcassonne
At 18 kilometers the brave French cyclist was neutralized and with less than 10 to go Van Aert he was sharpening the knife in anticipation of a new exhibition. His battle of roosters against Cavendish promised and it seemed that there was no option for surprise. It was one or the other. Finally, Cavendish had more legs than anyone (the Spanish Iván García Cortina was second) under the castles of Carcassonne and ended up taking stage 13 of the Tour de France. At 36 years old, it is already the history of the Tour de France. In the coming days, he may be the cyclist who has won the most stages in the history of the Big loop.
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