After the hardest Tour de France start in recent memory, Monday's stage of the 2023 Tour de France provided the first opportunity for Mark Cavendish to take his 35th win, a number that would see him surpass the current record of 34, which he shares with Eddy Merckx.
Unfortunately for the Astana Qazaqstan rider, today wasn't to be. His sixth place finish in Bayonne in the south west of France means the fairytale will have to wait, but the 38-year-old showed promise with a fast final 200 metres and a well-executed team plan.
"I'm happy with that," the smiling fresh-faced Manxman began, after initially refusing questions until he'd had time to shower.
"Obviously we'd like to win, but I'm happy with how the boys rode. I'm happy with the speed."
"You see the teams that are up there, the more dialled teams, the teams that do it day in day out. We had a plan to get me at the front into 2km to go into the U turn."
"That's what the boys committed to and that's what they did perfectly. So actually the job was complete. Then it was down to me, trying to find the right wheels after that."
Cavendish comes into the race not as one of the out-and-out leading sprinters, but the wily Manxman's experience, and the additional help of old lead out man Mark Renshaw, mean he cannot be ruled out whenever the race finishes in a gallop.
But today's stage was perhaps not perfectly suited to him, with a fast downhill charge before a late 200 metre kick up to the line in Bayonne.
"I'm happy with the speed," he continued. "I think 500m to go I was not even in the top 10, maybe 15th position."
"We said at the beginning that it's not the best finish for me, it suits a guy with massive torque, someone like Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) or Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma); someone who can put a 56T gear on and get it running. It was just that last 200 [metres] for me.
"100m further of that uphill is more a sprint for me, but how it was, I'm happy with that. I take confidence for the next days."
Complete with a new Wilier bike, new Nike shoes, and a new Limar helmet for the race, the perfectly sponsor-correct Manxman, wearing his Monster cap and Oakley glasses, seemed perfectly relaxed when fielding questions from TV reporters and the press, even interrupting questions to shout a Spanish thank you to a cheering French passer by. His geographical bearings might have become confused, but the pressure to win a stage on his final Tour de France seemed non-existent.
Netflix cameras and microphones hovered during his interview too, and it was today revealed that he will feature in season 2 of the Unchained documentary. Perhaps it was the calming influence of his new 'Sprint and Leadout Consultant' Mark Renshaw that kept the pressure at bay.
"He helped a lot. Not just in the final, but the last 25km with the climbs, the little kicks. Knowing just how long they were, how to stay up there, [and] where to move up before the roundabouts, it helped an awful lot. "
"I think what he said he nailed it, and the boys nailed that for me. Luis Leon [Sanchez] was always with me, Cees [Bol] was always with me. We knew Alpecin [Deceuninck] would nail it, I was happy to stay with them."
A Speedway Finish on Stage 5
Looking ahead to the rest of the race, five more opportunities await Cavendish to win a stage and take the record. The first of which comes tomorrow.
"Tomorrow we'll try. It's a different one. I've never finished on a motor racing circuit at the Tour before. I have in other races but it might be a bit different in the Tour de France. We'll have to see, I think it'll be new for everyone."
"I'm quite looking forward to it. Actually, it'll be easier than today. Today wasn't that easy still, so I think the peloton will look forward to a flatter day tomorrow. Hopefully the wind is alright as well."
"I'm confident in my form and in how the team's going, so we look forward the next sprint opportunities."
