But I think I’ve shown my experience, I’ve shown the years of racing, I’ve shown the years of hard work to get here. I’m just super happy. I’m in disbelief. Thank you to everybody who’s been a part of this journey with me. It’s a journey that continues.”
But the boys improvised and got me in the best position and I was able to win.
The sprint finish meant no change to the overall standings, in which Tadej Pogacar leads Remco Evenepoel by 45 seconds, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in third, a further five seconds back.
Cavendish postponed his planned retirement after crashing out of last year’s Tour, with his Astana-Qazaqstan team going all-in on ‘Project 35’ ahead of this year’s race.
His victory comes just four days after Cavendish struggled mightily in the heat of a punishing opening stage out of Florence, vomiting on the bike in concerning scenes, and two days after he missed the opportunity to contest stage three after being caught behind a late crash in Turin.
Cavendish’s four stage wins in 2021 counted as one of sport’s great comeback stories, his first victories at the Tour in five years after a period of time marked by illness and injury which contributed to a diagnosis of depression.
Even since those wins three years ago, Cavendish has endured more difficulty, only signing a last-minute deal with Astana-Qazaqstan ahead of the 2023 season after the collapse of another move, then seeing last year’s Tour end abruptly on stage eight.
Cavendish’s wife Peta and their children were waiting at the team bus and joined in exuberant celebrations.
His first Tour stage win came in 2008 on stage five, Cholet to Chateauroux and was quickly followed by three more wins in that year’s edition.