Mark Cavendish bowed out of his last Tour de France in Nice on Sunday as his sports director, Mark Renshaw, confirmed that the record-breaking Tour stage winner had ridden his final race.
After the Tour’s final stage to Nice, Renshaw, a former teammate, said: “This is his last professional race.”
Earlier, Cavendish had been a little less forthcoming. “Likely so, yeah,” he said when asked if he was about to retire, but also added that it was “100%” his last Tour.
Renshaw, his former lead-out man in many Grand Tour sprints, paid tribute to the longevity of a career that began in the 2007 Tour de France. “For Cav to have been at the level that he has been, for so long, is probably one of the most impressive things,” he said.
“Obviously, there has been his hunger for success, with different teams at different times, that shows that he’s a phenomenal athlete.”
Renshaw agreed nobody would have blamed the former world champion, if, after securing his record-breaking win in the first week of the Tour, he had called it a day. “A few days later he lined up chasing a 36th stage and he was really disappointed to not succeed,” Renshaw said. “I’m sure he would have loved to have gone home, but he’s a team player.”
As Cavendish bowed out, Tadej Pogacar took centre stage, which –based on his swagger during the final week of the 2024 Tour – is where he likes to be. “I cannot describe how happy I am,” the Slovenian said.
“After two hard years in the Tour de France, always some mistakes, this year everything [went] to perfection. It’s incredible.
“Some people would think the Giro was a safety net if I didn’t succeed in the Tour de France. To win the Tour de France is another level, and to win both together, is another level above that level.”
Pogacar has finished first or second in each of the five Tours de France he has started. “This is the first Grand Tour where I was totally confident every day,” he said. “Even in the Giro I remember I had one bad day, but this Tour de France was amazing. I was enjoying from day one until today and I had such great support behind me. I just couldn’t let anyone down, so I was enjoying it for them as well.”
