Mark Cavendish: 'To be mentioned with Hinault and Merckx, I never could have dreamed of it'

Mark Cavendish says he can't compare himself to Bernard Hinault, whose tally of 28 stage wins the Manxman equalled on Monday

Mark Cavendish after winning stage three of the Tour de France (Sunada)

(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)

Mark Cavendish matched Bernard Hinault's Tour de France stage tally of 28 with his stage three victory in Angers, and is second only to cycling great Eddy Merckx with 34 – something he says he never could have imagined.

Dimension Data's sprinter won stage one and put on the yellow jersey for the first time Saturday and on Monday won his second stage in the 2016 race to match Hinault's career haul of 28. He began taking victories in 2008, going home with as many as six in 2009.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.