'I'm so tired': Emotional Mark Cavendish thanks teammates after surviving Tour de France time cut
The Briton is just two days away from finishing the Tour de France for an eighth time


The 2024 Tour de France was only one hour old when Mark Cavendish was already in trouble. He had come here to create more history, to win a record 35th stage, but the heat, the humidity and the viscous climbs in the Italian Apennines were combining to make his day hell. There were fears, genuine and not overexaggerated, that the 39-year-old would miss the time cut on the very first day. That was not in the script.
As the hours slowly passed, and he and his Astana-Qazaqstan team slowly ticked off each of the seven climbs, the prognostic improved, and he eventually crossed the line almost 40 minutes behind the stage winner Romain Bardet, but crucially 10 minutes ahead of the time cut.
Twenty days on, with a triple-header of 2,000+ metre peaks to navigate, and Cavendish – his stage win 35 already achieved two weeks prior – was again suffering. He’s done a lot of that in this year’s Tour: he’s second-last on GC to his teammate Davide Ballerini, has finished in the last group on the road on five occasions, and on stage 19 he was the last man across the line, almost 45 minutes adrift of winner Tadej Pogačar. But, once again, the Manx Missile had staved off yet another time cut.
“It was pretty relentless today,” he told Cycling Weekly at the finish of stage 19 in Isola 2000. “It’s always just put your head down and go hard.”
Surviving the succession of mountains is “more important” than doing what he’s spent 16 years being the best in the world at doing: winning Tour de France stages. His 35th, he’s adamant, wouldn’t have come without the sacrifice of his teammates.
“You saw that first day in Florence, that was where we won our stage,” he said. “It was that day. Without that, without the boys doing that… That’s what brings a group together, that’s what a group is, more than a lead-out.”
Cavendish survived the first day in Italy, but his teammate Michele Gazzoli did not. Since then, he’s lost a further three colleagues, leaving his team with just four riders, each of them committed to ensuring that he makes it to Nice.
“I am so proud of them,” he continued. “Them boys, they’re really incredible. Super, super just with me [the whole way]. I am so lucky to have them. I’m so tired. I’ve got to go rest otherwise I’m not doing them any justice.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Current lanterne rouge Ballerini, part of each of Cavendish’s last five victories, admitted that the Briton “had some bad moments sometimes” during stage 19 and the preceding high mountain days, but that the pacing was always under control. “We always try to stay on the plan, stay on the [required] watts, and the important thing is to keep eating,” the Italian said.
Two stages remain, one more day in the Alps on Saturday, and then a mountainous time trial on Sunday starting in Monaco and finishing in Nice, but Cavendish can all but celebrate: barring disaster, he will finish his eighth Tour, of the 15 he’s started.
“I had it in my mind already that Cav could do it,” Ballerini added. “We saw him, he is going really good, and he keeps fighting with his head because he wants to arrive in Nice – and he will make it.”
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
A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
-
Save time, save money and get fit with Green Commute Initiative
Switching to cycling can transform your commute into an enjoyable and rewarding way to start and end your day. Imagine swapping bumper-to-bumper traffic for an invigorating bike ride that gets you moving and leaves you feeling energised.
-
Wout van Aert wins sensational Giro d'Italia stage nine over the gravel as Isaac Del Toro moves into pink
Exhilarating stage saw Primož Roglič and Tom Pidcock lose time after a crash on the strade bianche
-
'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
-
Identical start, diverging destinies? The story of Adam and Simon Yates as they both race for pink at the Giro d'Italia
Adam and Simon Yates head to the Giro d’Italia on different teams and with different prospects. As their career paths diverge, does the brotherly bond endure?
-
Who could complete the Grand Tour hat-trick at the men’s Giro d’Italia?
Six male riders could become stage winners in all three Grand Tours this month
-
Tadej Pogačar was dominant at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but I hope for a competitive Tour de France
The Slovenian has finished on the podium of the last six Monuments, the first man to do so - when will he stop dominating?
-
Jonas Vingegaard confirms race schedule ahead of Tour de France
Danish climber will only ride the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, but will take part in two altitude camps
-
Remco Evenepoel hails end of 'dark period' and announces racing return
Olympic champion says comeback from training crash has been 'the hardest battle of my life so far'
-
'We need to keep the biggest race in the sport free' - Petition calling for Tour de France to remain on free-to-air television reaches 10,000 signatures
As things stand, the Tour will be not be free to watch in 2026, but a petition is seeking to change the way it is categorised by the UK government