Mark Cavendish rues leaving Mørkøv's wheel on Champs-Élysées, but will he ride another Tour de France?
Cavendish remains on 34 wins but is all smiles as he wins green jersey in incredible comeback

Mark Cavendish is ruing the decision to leave lead-out man Michael Mørkøv's wheel in the Champs-Élysées sprint on the final stage of the Tour de France, as the opportunity to set a new record for most Tour de France stage wins flashed by him in the shape of Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen, Cavendish having to settle for third.
"I left Mørkøv's wheel didn't I? Shouldn't have left Mørkøv's wheel," Cavendish told ITV after the stage of the mistake he made in the final.
"I've seen Van Aert come with speed and he still had Teunissen with him, and then Jonas Rickaert came underneath and that was me from then on. I knew I was in a pretty dark situation, knew I was boxed. Rickaert came and he had Philipsen then. Pretty much exactly what we do, our tactics, they did against us because I left Mørkøv's wheel."
Ultimately, though, Cavendish isn't too upset, a month ago a Tour comeback wasn't even on the cards and now he's equalled Merckx's record and captured an unexpected green jersey.
"Doesn't matter, we stayed safe and we've got five stage wins from here so we can be happy," Cavendish said.
"It was a little bit chaotic in the final, I didn't really like it if I'm honest. It wasn't nice at all. Then Mørkøv had one of the GoPros on his saddle so I had to be even more vigilant with where my handlebars were going.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"We've got the green jersey, we're in Paris, four weeks ago I wasn't even going to be at this race, but to be here...five stage wins, yellow jersey for a day, green jersey for 14, 15 days, it's a successful Tour de France for Deceuninck - Quick-Step."
Interestingly, when asked about the green jersey, Cavendish uses the phrase 'when I was riding', instinctively talking of this comeback as a detached surprise away from the majority of his career, talking about how the placement of intermediate sprints has changed over the past decade. When questions turn to another ride at the Tour next year, it's of course all up in the air. Does he want to go out on this unexpected high? Or is there still hunger?
"Honestly, since really 2011 I never really thought about getting it anyway. Only in the last couple of years have they changed where they put the intermediate sprints that's when I was like 'urgh, I wish they'd done that when I was riding!'
"It's just serendipity that I'm here now 10 years after wearing it I'm wearing it again, I'm just super grateful.
"I don't know, I'm getting on a bit," Cavendish said of whether he'll ride the 2022 Tour. "All I want to do now is enjoy a nice dinner with my team-mates and my family and spend the next few days with my wife and kids and see what happens."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
-
Michael Matthews puts career on pause after signs of a pulmonary embolism
Australian will miss Tour de France with all physical activity stopped until further notice
-
'Getting to Paris is like that moment you're told you're in remission' - Geoff Thomas to attempt Tour de France route for seventh time with Tour21
Former professional footballer Thomas getting set to tackle the 3,000 plus kilometre route to raise money for Cure Leukaemia
-
Mathieu van der Poel fractures wrist in MTB crash, puts summer of racing in doubt
Van der Poel diagnosed with minor avulsion fracture of the scaphoid bone after two crashes at MTB World Series event in Nové Město
-
'I feel pain in my sprinter's heart': Marcel Kittel reacts to Tour de France final stage shake-up in Paris
Retired German sprinting great says inclusion of cobbled climb to Montmartre before Champs-Élysées finish will be 'very stressful' and would leave him 'disappointed as a rider'
-
Will the sprinters make it to the Champs-Élysées? Tour de France 2025 final stage places Montmartre climb 6km from the finish
ASO confirms punchy race finale with three ascents of the Butte Montmartre
-
'They never once checked me for concussion' - Jonas Vingegaard calls out head injury protocol after Paris-Nice crash
Two-time Tour de France winner says he was 'completely dizzy and nauseous' in days after crash
-
'When everyone starts to panic, you just need to breathe deeply': Fearless approach key to success on Giro d’Italia gravel stage
Pello Bilbao expects Strade Bianche-style stage on Sunday to be both a physical and mental challenge
-
Tour de France Champs-Élysées stage to include cobbled climb in Montmartre, copying Paris Olympic road race
Route change confirmed to mark 50th anniversary of first ever finish on the Champs-Élysées