Mark Cavendish's bid for a record 35th stage win at the Tour de France ended in disappointment on Sunday as Belgian Wout van Aert pipped him on the line in a dramatic sprint finish, which also saw Tadej Pogacar crowned champion for the second year running.
Many expected the 36-year-old to finally break Eddy Merckx's long-standing record of 34 stage victories, but the Briton struggled to find space in the final few meters of the bunch sprint and could not come past Van Aert in front of a packed crowd on Paris' Champs-Elysees. Cavendish was left banging his fist on the handlebars in frustration at the finish as Van Aert captured an unlikely win.
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It was only fitting that Van Aert was the one who preserved Merckx's record for the time being. Van Aert has been dubbed as the second coming of the Cannibal after his stunning performances in this year's Tour de France.
The Belgian all-rounder nailed three diverse stage wins in this year's race, capturing the dreaded double ascent of Mt. Ventoux, winning Saturday's difficult individual time trial, and now Sunday's final sprint on the Champs-Elysees against the great Cavendish of all people. Van Aert was ecstatic after the stage victory, saying, "This Tour has just been amazing, it has been such a roller coaster. To finish off with a win like this is beyond expectations."
Despite the final stage defeat, Cavendish's campaign in this year's Tour de France has been a tremendous success. Cavendish has exceeded expectations after being called up by Deceuninck Quick-Step as a late replacement for Irish sprinter Sam Bennett who was sidelined with a knee injury.
He managed to equal Merckx's record with four stage wins this year, an incredible achievement given that he has struggled for form in recent years, with his last Tour de France stage victory coming in 2016. Since that win five years ago, Cavendish has battled the Epstein-Barr virus, various injuries as well as depression, leading him to proclaim just nine months ago that his Tour career was probably over.
However, Cavendish rewarded his team's faith in him, winning the Tour's green jersey for the first time since 2011 after dominating the points classification for sprinting. Cavendish was emotional after the race, saying, "It's an honor just to be here, no matter the result, no matter what jersey I'm wearing. But it is nice after a decade to pull on the maillot vert again."
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Pogacar reigns supreme yet again
The day also belonged to Tadej Pogacar, who became the youngest double winner of the Tour de France. He has been unstoppable in his title defense, wearing the yellow jersey since Stage 8 of this year's race. Pogacar was relentless, particularly in the final week, claiming two prestigious stage wins at the Pyrenees to become only the fourth rider in Tour de France history to win back-to-back summit finishes at cycling's biggest race.
Such was Pogacar's dominance that his final winning margin was five minutes and 20 seconds, the largest at the Tour since 2014. Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz were the only riders in this year's race to finish within 10 minutes of the two-time champion.
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