Britain’s Mark Cavendish equaled Belgian Eddie Merckx’s record for stage wins on the Tour, but noted he could not be compared to “the greatest rider of all time”.
“I don’t think I can be compared to the greatest rider of all time. I only adjusted his number of wins on stage, but this can only be useful for someone who doesn’t follow cycling. All I hope is that this inspires a lot of kids to go cycling especially in the kingdom United”.
The Isle of Man cyclist confirmed that winning the race was nothing compared to the record built by Merckx, who reigned over all terrain and also won the Tour five times.
Cavendish beat fellow Danish Michael Morkoff on Friday, who thanked him for the work and said he was proud he got the job done.
“Being a leader, the responsibility of the team is on your back, not just on your legs, but also on your head to take that pressure. In a team, I’m the one who does the least work, but only the top 10 overall that charges more than the “runners.” I have My team pressured me to win, but they put me in the best position.”
Cavendish admitted that Friday was one of his toughest wins, both because of the heat and because the final section was a false flat that didn’t do well with his characteristics and forced him to put in more development than usual.
The Briton confirmed that he had missed out on the public’s support and admitted that his position had changed in recent years.
He said, “Before I acted like an idiot, because I was young. Now I have matured, I have a family and learned to act better. I am a 36-year-old man and not the boy from before.”
“Lifelong travel trailblazer. Food nerd. Award-winning music enthusiast. Twitter guru.”