Mark Cavendish finally did it--he broke Eddy Merckx's record of 35 stage wins in the Tour de France. It was a record that had stood for 48 years.

Cavendish's record not only draws attention by being compared to legends like Merckx, but also solidifies the Manx Missile as the greatest sprinter in cycling history, and perhaps ever.

Of Merckx's 34 stage wins, 16 came in time trials, and at the Tour de France he won three prologue time trials, 13 individual time trials, and 18 mass start stages. Of the latter, only two stages can be considered mass sprints: the final stage of the 1974 Tour de France and the seventh stage of the 1974 Tour de France in a 55-man group.

Mark Cavendish's Tour de France victories have all come in group sprints, and his victory on stage 5 this year was a master class in using mental clarity, experience, quick and precise decisions, and sharp elbows to beat faster rivals.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024, will go down in history as the day Cavendish finally broke the Merc Tour de France record in the unremarkable village of Saint Vrba, Ain. Cycling News details how Cavendish earned his 35th Tour de France stage win.

Astana Kazakstan showed patience with 10km to go, waiting for Visma Lease-a-Bike and UAE Team Emirates to take the lead after they passed a roundabout with 6.2km to go. The two Astana riders moved to the front, but Cavendish was a bit further back. After confirming that Cavendish was not there, the two riders moved away from the front to join Cavendish, and Visma took the lead again.

The washing machine was in full operation as the riders dodged traffic furniture. Astana had Lotto Doustony, Bahrain Victorious, and Intermarque Wanty fighting for the lead, with Cavendish close behind.

Lot Doustony led Arnaud de Lier on the left side as Alpecin Desseuninck made a big surge. Cofidis and sprinter Brian Coquard drop out of contention as the Philipsen team approaches from the right side to take over from Lot d'Estony.

Cavendish keeps his cool with Philipsen on his right and Belgian champion De Lier on his left. He defends his team's wheel, ignoring Team DSM-Filmenig-Post NL and Alcare-B&B Hotels on his right.

Cavendish's team pulls him ahead of de Lier and Philipsen and looks for Michael Molkov, but he is swept away and caught behind de Lier. Phil Bauhaus of Bahrain gets in the way and is unable to get in front of Cavendish. Cavendish has no choice but to continue to run away from the field.

DSM, Arkea, and Israel Premier Tech close in from the right and begin to pin Astana. Astana is surrounded by a left side barrier and has to coast behind green jersey holder Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X).

Then the Alpecin rider pulls away to the right, finally clearing the way for Van der Pol to move forward with Philipsen. At the same moment, Abrahamsen looks around for Alexander Kristoff.

Cavendish leaves the team, but puts himself behind Pascal Ackermann (Israel Premier Tech). Ackermann and Arnaud Demare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) made contact right in front of Cavendish, threatening a crash.

After the collision between Ackermann and Demare, Cavendish slides slightly to the right and finds the wheel of Philipsen. Cavendish put the bar in front of him and Bauhaus, with Fernando Gaviria on his right, was faced with a choice: fight with Cavendish and crash or give up. He made the right choice.

Van der Pol began to lead with Philipsen and Cavendish. However, Ryan Gibbons (Lidl Trek) begins a final push for Mads Pedersen.

The last of the DSM's confirms that Jacobsen is nowhere to be found and punches a hole in the middle of Cavendish's left. Cavendish sees this acceleration and moves away from Philipsen's wheel.

"I just followed. I saw Alpecin coming. I knew they had the numbers, so I followed. Ackermann was there, but you can't predict which way Ackermann is going to go, so you have to wait for him to jump and for them to come up. So that's what I did," Cavendish said after the race.

As Gibbons took the lead with Ackermann in tow, Cavendish moved in behind the German to take the final leadout that Morkov usually provides. At speed, Cavendish passed Philipsen and at one point tried to grab Ackermann's wheel, only to be hit by Cavendish's sharp elbow.

Gibbons fades away and Philipsen is surrounded by barriers and unable to get out.

Cavendish dodges Ackermann and dives to his left, opening the jets. Philipsen gets to the middle of the road and clings to Cavendish's wheel, but it is already too late.

Behind Cavendish, Pedersen hit the barriers and crashed, and a Cofidis rider bunny-hopped him, but no one paid attention as history was about to be made.

Mark Cavendish finally broke Merckx's record and put his name in Tour de France history as the most stage winners in history, ahead of Philipsen and Christophe.