On a day marked for sprinters in tour de france, He won great king of the race in this modality. Mark Cavendish (Astana) made history this Wednesday after winning the fifth stage and becoming the cyclist with the most stage-level victories in French round history.
It adds up thirty fivepreceded by thirty-four harvested by Eddy Merckx throughout his career. Co-leader since 2021 in that statistical section, he had to wait three years to break a tie that filled him as, surely, the greatest sprinter of all time.
The Briton thus extended his legend on a historic day in racing where there were no changes in the general classification. Tadej Pogacar continues as leader after a day with some scares but where he kept both Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard in a day marked for the sprinters.
I expect an episode of 177.4 kilometers between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint Vulbas, with a flat terrain that does not give much to surprises and yes to the management of the forces of the favorites after a difficult day the previous day in Galibier. Only two fourth-category climbs initially emerged as the biggest difficulties of the day.
They want some fame as soon as the day starts Juan Ayuso (United Arab Emirates) and Oier Lazkano (Movistar), who first launched a timid attack to loosen the peloton. In the face of UAE’s fear, Ayuso immediately braked so that the peloton could hold the reins while waiting for the sun’s breakaway.
After several attempts, with more than thirty kilometers passed, the French were Clement Russo (Groupama-FDJ and Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) to take responsibility for the leak. It is always perfectly controlled by the platoon, with no intention of using more forces than necessary.
Some fears come from behind, like a fall sixty kilometers from the finish line after bad signage of a roundabout that surprised cyclists. They cannot avoid going to earth, without great consequences, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious), Nelson Oliveira and Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Dstny), Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious). The one who saved the fall at the last second was Tadej Pogacar who performed a great maneuver to avoid a possible accident during the stage.
The fear of the day was followed by heavy rain in the last part of the race, which did not invite any runners to try to surprise teams of sprinters. They chased Vercher and Russo around thirty-five kilometers from the finish, facing the last few kilometers with several holes and scares in the form of a minor fall. The general’s staff guarded their position with no other intention than to avoid disasters.
This is a day for the sprinter teams to position themselves and to see who will define the sprint. This, a little bumpy, was seen at the beginning a fall by Mads Pedersen who left him in battle. I didn’t think twice Cavendish, who through acceleration overtook Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) to achieve more than success.
Because this is his thirty-fifth stage of victory, at thirty-nine years old.s. The Isle of Man Express continues at full speed, on a meteoric trajectory with 165 victories. The last of them, the most sought after, the thirty-fifth in the Tour, crowning him an absolute legend of the world’s greatest race after breaking a tie with Eddy Merckx.
Behind them, in the other race, the overall race, the favorites entered the last kilometers without any problems. Tadej Pogacar continues as the race leader with forty-five seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel and fifty seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. This Thursday, the sixth stage of 163.5 kilometers between Mâcon and Dijon, completely flat after the first fourth stage for another sprint where Cavendish will come as the absolute and historic king.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
