Mark Cavendish can mount another 'miracle comeback' at Tour de France, says Jens Voigt, suggests making Brit 'angry'
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Published 27/06/2024 at 14:53 GMT
Eurosport expert Jens Voigt says anyone doubting Mark Cavendish can break the outright Tour de France stage record will be made to regret it. The German, a former stage winner himself, believes critics would make him “so mad, so angry” that he would be desperate to prove them wrong. Cavendish shares the record of 34 stage wins with Eddy Merckx and has delayed retirement to go again.
‘It is my life’ - Cavendish relives his 34 Tour de France stage wins
If anyone wants Mark Cavendish to break the outright stage record at the Tour de France, it appears you just have to poke the bear - according to Eurosport expert Jens Voigt.
Voigt, who won two stages of the famous race himself, says Cavendish would feel “so mad, so angry” if he heard anyone doubting his capability that he would be desperate “to prove you wrong”.
Cavendish has delayed retirement to try and move past the 34 stage wins he currently shares with the great Belgian, Eddy Merckx, and goes into the Tour having recently been knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours.
“It might sound funny, but in order to help him win another stage, we should all talk against him and give him the feeling he cannot do it. That will make him so mad, so angry,” Voigt told Eurosport.
“He will gain so much energy out of being mad at us for writing him down that he will say, "I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna win a stage just to prove you wrong.
“Honestly, Cav is the type of person who, the more competition, the more opposition, the more people say, 'I don't think so,' he rises to that challenge.”
Cavendish, now 39, will be hoping for just one more victory having U-turned on his decision to step away from the sport after last year’s Tour.
Geraint Thomas, speaking recently on his Watts Occurring podcast, backed Cavendish to break the record, despite lining up against the likes of Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, Arnaud Demare and more - saying he can “beat all of them”, and Voigt agrees.
The German continued: “How many miracle comebacks has he had? Epstein-Barr, crashes, not finding a team for a long time, and still he comes back. So yes, absolutely.
“Plus, he's knighted now. Sir Mark Cavendish will definitely be good enough for one more stage win. I'm fully behind him. I'm fully backing him up.
“I don't think we will see a dominant sprinter. They are all so close to each other that it depends on the day's luck, shape, and how the lead-out works out.
“Almost any of them are able to win a stage or lose a stage within the last 500 metres. It's tiny little things that make a difference between first, second, or third.”
Stage 1 of the Tour begins in Florence, Italy on Saturday, with every moment of the race available to watch on Eurosport and discovery+.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Tour de France this summer, with live coverage running June 29 to July 21.
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