‘Manx Missile’ Cavendish makes Tour de France history

Mark Cavendish crushed the field in a masterful bunch sprint to claim a record-breaking 35th victory on the Tour de France when he prevailed in the fifth stage on Wednesday.

The Briton, who postponed his retirement by a year after crashing out of the Tour last season, was in a class of his own in a nervy finale after 177km from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to beat Belgian Jasper Philipsen and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff second and third.

Astana-Qazaqtsan rider Cavendish, 39, had shared the record with Belgian great Eddy Merckx, one of the four five-time Tour de France champions.

He was greeted and embraced by several of his rivals shortly after crossing the finish line.

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after he just avoided crashing into a central reservation some 57km from the finish with several riders just behind him hitting the deck.