The towns changed but the feeling never really did. From Châteauroux to Carcassonne, Mark Cavendish would scarcely have descended from the podium before his thoughts were already slowly turning from that day’s bouquets to the next day’s pressures. For sixteen years, a Tour de France stage win was eaten bread soon forgotten. There was rarely any time to savour the taste.
The build-up to the most recent stage win had been interminable, from late in the 2021 Tour to the opening week of this year’s race. In between, Cavendish left one team and his career survived the collapse of another. He missed selection for one Tour then crashed out of the next. He announced his retirement last year only to walk it back for one last go on the carousel.
