In the words of the 2011 baseball movie Moneyball, "It's hard not to romanticize cycling." A full 17 years after first pedaling in anger at the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish, who has battled illness, crashes, and elimination for the past three years, has broken the Tour de France stage win record.

For nearly half a century, Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stages reigned supreme.

But on Wednesday, in the tiny village of Saint-Vulba, Cannibal was toppled as Cavendish again won the stage, this time over fellow veteran Alexander Kristoff and the new generation of fast riders, Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud de Lier.

Cavendish now has 23 wins and is the current rider (guess who?) 1,090 days after his 34th stage win, Cavendish again set the fastest time at the finish of the Tour de France.

Shortly after the 177-km nondescript trek across the Savoie and Ain departments, Cavendish voiced his disbelief at the victory, despite having been in the same position many times during his 18-year career.

"I kind of can't believe it. Astana took a big gamble this year to finish well in the Tour de France. The boss did it. It was a big gamble to win at least one stage. It was a big gamble for the boss, Alexander Vinokurov.

"We were able to show the next riders what the Tour de France is all about. We did it. The way the team was built, the equipment, all the details were put in specifically for today."

"It's been a long time since I've been in the Tour de France," said Vinokourov.

At the post-stage press conference a short time later, Cavendish's thoughts rarely strayed from thanking his team and family.

"I miss not only my sons, my teammates, the riders, but everyone who has supported and worked on this Tour de France for a year or two," Cavendish said.

"Usually we go out and get crazy and celebrate, but I want to be with everyone and realize what we've done. I'm very lucky to have such a great team, Astana Kazakstan, great friends, teammates, and especially my wonderful family."

"[My family] is so grateful to be here. They were here last night and they were here today at the start and the finish.

Cavendish, who has five children with his wife Peta, had them all at the start and finish of the stage.

"We've all put a lot into this," he said. He said, "We have five kids, and his wife is raising them and making sure they have a normal life while their dad is away.

"I think any father can testify to how special it is to have them come and share this moment with us. Nothing is worth doing if you can't share it with those closest to you, your family, especially your children. I am very lucky to have that privilege today."

But his goodwill was not limited to teammates and family. Cavendish, the third oldest man behind Jakob Fuglsang and Mikhail Molkov (now the second oldest Tour stage winner in history), is 19 years older than the younger riders who share the peloton.

Tadej Pogachar, the yellow jersey, said Cavendish jokingly asked him not to set a new record. For now, they are rivals, but they are the players you will be rooting for when you put an end to your own career at the end of the season.

"In my later years, I am very fortunate to share the peloton with athletes who will continue to be fans even when I stop running," Cavendish said. 'I watch them on TV and cheer them on. As a competitor, it's a privileged position for me to know them as a person beforehand."

"Everyone has been so nice the last few days. Most of the riders said to me, 'I hope you can win a stage here.' I'm really emotional."

"There are incredible bike riders in the men's and women's peloton in 2024, and that's the future of the sport. As I've said before, I'm proud to be able to at least call them competitors before I cut my own wheels."

But with 17 more days of racing, from Macon on Thursday to Dijon, Troyes, Pau, and a painful final rendezvous in the Pyrenees and Alps, he will be locked firmly back into competitor mode.

After all, he may have set his own record with 35 stage wins.

"First and foremost, I want to enjoy this race, and second we want to be successful again. I love this race. I love this race, both when I'm running it and when I'm watching it.

"So I will continue to do that, and I will continue to challenge myself and the lead-outs to bunch sprints. And on the other stages, I will try to break away with Harold [Lopez], Lutz [Alexey Lutsenko], and the guys who can win the stage. Astana Kazakstan has the ability to win a number of stages here, so I'll do my best to do that."

"It won't be easy for the sprinters to survive the whole route, but we will do our best to do so and reach the epic time trial from Monaco to Nice in two and a half weeks."

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