Mark Cavendish made history at the Tour de France on Wednesday by winning a historic 35th stage at the age of 39. With this latest triumph, he surpasses the record of partial victories held since 1975 by the legendary Belgian rider Eddy Merckx, considered to be the best cyclist in history. The Cannibal's record had stood for 48 years, but the charismatic sprinter had been trying to break it since he equalled it in 2021.

"Congratulations to Mark on this historic milestone. A good guy who broke my record in the Tour," said the legendary cyclist on his Instagram account, accompanying his message with a heart. "This is my 15th Tour de France. It takes a lot to get here, to get in shape every year," said Cavendish at the finish line. "I'm surrounded by incredible people and I owe them a lot," added Cavendish, who made his Tour debut in 2008 before becoming world road race champion three years later.

The peloton went into the fifth stage of the Tour unaware of what Cavendish's Astana team had planned. Astana stayed at the front right of the peloton as a light rain fell. The finish had been studied. Cavendish knew that on a long straight in the small village of Saint-Vulbas he had to surprise the world's best sprinters. 

The famous 'trains' formed and in one of them the 'Manx Missile' launched himself. The finish was chaotic, with a crash in the middle of the peloton, but at the front Cavendish dominated perfectly, finishing well ahead of Belgian Jasper Philipsen, last year's winner of the green jersey. A jersey that Cavendish has been a winner of on several occasions.

Race leader and two-time winner Tadej Pogacar almost collided with a traffic island, causing a chain reaction and a pile-up of bikes and bodies behind him. This Wednesday, however, the protagonist was not Pogacar, but the British sprinter. "I used to watch him on TV. We loved him," said Pogacar. 

Of course, the Slovenian is 25. Cavendish is 39. "I just saw him and he said, 'Hey, don't break my record'," he added jokingly. If anyone can break Cavendish's new record of 35 victories, it's Pogacar, who has 12 stage wins to his name at the age of 25.

There was no change in the general classification, with Pogacar still leading the overall standings, which he enjoyed in full yellow, with Belgian Remco Evenepoel second at 45 seconds and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard third at 50 seconds.

Cavendish's career is remarkable. He will go down in history as one of the most effective sprinters of all time. Daring, bold and very brave, he won many races. He won stages in the Tour every year. But since he equalled Merckx's record in 2021, he has faced many challenges. 

In 2023, Cavendish left the Tour in an ambulance after a minor crash thwarted his plans. On that day, everything fell apart despite his enormous efforts to return. Two years earlier, when Cavendish equalled Merckx's stage record in Carcassonne, it was his fourth victory in that edition. 

He was riding for Quick Step after years in the wilderness with the Epstein-Barr virus. He was on the verge of retiring from cycling. He was going through a difficult time that even led to a personal and family crisis. In 2020, he left Bahrain completely written off. 

He could barely ride a bike. He begged for a contract as no one wanted him and was even offered to work for free. Running without pay just to have a place. By refusing to say goodbye, he accepted the unthinkable. 

Patrick Lefevere, head of Deceuninck, who had directed the Englishman in his best moments, gave him a chance. Then he took it away from him, and it was Astana who put their money on a man in the mud.

He missed the chance for a 35th stage win on the Champs-Élysées, finishing second. Then he was left out of the 2022 Tour, with Quick Step opting for Fabio Jakobsen, 10 years his junior. It looked like he wasn't going to make it.

Cavendish joined Astana in 2023. He was persuaded to sign a one-year contract extension for this season after considering retirement.