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Mark Cavendish is presented with a cake on his 38th birthday

Photo: LUCA ZENNARO / EPA

Tour record stage winner Mark Cavendish will end his cycling career at the end of the 2023 season. The Briton announced this at a press conference on the second rest day of the Giro d'Italia. "Cycling has been my life for more than 25 years. I have lived an absolute dream. It's the perfect time to say that it's my last Giro d'Italia and that 2023 will be my last season as a professional cyclist," Cavendish said at a press conference a day after his 38th birthday.

The sprinter took 17 professional victories in his 161-year career, including the 2011 World Championship title in Copenhagen, the spring classic Milan-Sanremo and a total of 53 stage wins in the three Grand Tours. At the Tour de France, he holds the record with 34 stage victories together with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx. At the prestigious Tour of France, he also won the coveted green jersey (Best Sprinter) twice.

In the summer, Cavendish, who rides for the Kazakh Astana racing team, could become the sole record winner in his possible 14th Tour participation. But records are not his priority. "Even if I had 45 wins, I would go to the Tour de France to win," he said.

Pinot, Van Avermaet and Sagan also quit

However, Cavendish has been waiting for a win for just over a year. His most recent success came at the 2022 British Road Cycling Championships. At the Giro, too, the best result so far was only a third place on the eleventh stage, when Pascal Ackermann from the Palatinate won.

In addition to Cavendish, other riders who have shaped the sport for more than a decade will end their road cycling careers in the autumn. Former Tour bronze medallist Thibaut Pinot is retiring, as is Rio Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet. Three-time world champion Peter Sagan will only ride a mountain bike in 2024.

bam/dpa