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Mark Cavendish equals Eddy Merckx's Tour de France stage win record of 34



"It's what I dreamed of as a kid. I've worked so hard for it," said Cavendish.

Briton Simon Yates of Team Bike Exchange abandoned the race following a crash in which several riders fell down a ravine.

Tadej Pogacar of UAE-Team Emirates remains in the leader's yellow jersey on a day that will be remembered for Cavendish's exploits, 13 years on from his first win at the Tour.

An emotional and physically drained Cavendish embraced each of his team-mates at the finish and cried out "we've made history" as he hugged Davide Ballerini.

Cavendish added: "I'm so dead - 220km in that heat, in that wind. I went so deep there - the boys were incredible. I can't believe it.

"For a lot of the day it didn't feel like it was going to happen. I was so on the limit. You saw that at the end [which was] slightly uphill.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/57725179

No telling how many of those stage wins were bought. Eddy never bought a stage win. Tried to buy a world championship, according to (a compelling) Freddie Maertens but nobody ever said he bought a stage win.
In fact, these sorts of comparisons are ludicrous. It’s like equating Tommy Morrison with Muhammad Ali or Mark McGwire with Babe Ruth. Or like the ad for the Yugo saying it has more trunk space than a Ferrari Testarossa and gets better fuel mileage than an Aston Martin.

Well, I had recorded that stage and was about to watch it this morning. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

Having watched Cavendish throughout his career; I'm glad he's tied the record. He always said what he felt in interviews which made him a favorite among the journalists. He's had some bad luck with crashes and suffered from Epstein-Barr for a couple of years.

I highly doubt any of his victories were bought, either. Usually it's a GC contender looking to gain time on his competition that will "let" another take the stage win in exchange for support out on the road. This is traditional and classy. By letting a rider take the win, you will have more friends in the peloton for the next breakaway.

Fans used to push their favorites up the climbs and throw down tacks for their enemies. Fignon complained he lost the Tour of Italy when the tv helicopter directed its downwash at him during a time trial stage. Same helicopter used its downwash to provide a tailwind for Francesco Moser.

In the World Championship race, riders represent their country. After the race, they go back to their professional teams. During the race, they may get some support from their pro teammates riding for a different country. But when riders get into a breakaway, they have to work together or they will get caught by the main group.

If you want to believe he didn’t buy any stages, go ahead. I know lots of people who believe Lance Armstrong is a good guy because tv said so. Not sure how many international stage races you’ve entered but if the answer is zero (and it sounds like it is) believe me when I tell you, from experience, cycling is a lot different in real life than what Phil Ligget and Cyclesport depict.
What made Merckx unique (one thing) is that he won races as well as stages. It’s a lot easier to win a stage when you’re not contending for GC. Post LeMond you see very few tour winners who win non TT stages.
Eddy Merckx was the Alabama Crimson Tide, Rocky Marciano, and Michael Phelps all rolled into one. Which is why I was a Raymond Poulidor and Felice Gimondi fan. Eddy is pure class and a self-effacing gentleman, however.