Cavendish, 39, achieved this milestone on stage five of the 2024 Tour de France, riding from Pinerolo to Valloire. His remarkable achievement has cemented his status as one of the greatest sprinters in cycling history
The Isle of Man star beat a record that has stood for nearly 50 years. He retired from cycling after crashing out of last year's race with a broken collar bone, but later changed his mind.
After reaching the historic milestone, Cavendish said: "I'm in a bit of disbelief." The historic achievement comes one year after Cavendish suffered a race-ending crash on stage eight, one day after being pipped to a record-breaking victory by Jasper Philipsen.
"You sprint and go as hard as you can until you get to the finish and maybe your life changes if you cross that line first, maybe it doesn't if you don't,” he went on. “That is the nature of this race and what makes it so beautiful."
Cavendish had jointly held the record for most Tour stage wins with Belgian Merckx since winning his 34th stage in 2021. Last year was supposed to be his 14th and final Tour, but the dream of ending his career with the outright Tour stage record motivated him to make another comeback.
He is recognised by many as being one of the world's greatest cycling sprinters of all time. Growing up he began cycling at a very young age and joining a BMX club at the age of nine.
During his career he has racked up a huge list of achievements, including a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and was awarded a knighthood in the King's birthday honours list last month.
