Mark Cavendish officially greatest male sprinter after Tour of Hungary win

Mark Cavendish is now officially the greatest male sprinter of all time, after taking his 164th career win at the Tour of Hungary on Thursday. 

The second win of what is expected to be his final season took him to second place in cycling’s male all time wins ranking behind Eddy Merckx. 

Cavendish now sits one win ahead of Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini, who landed 163 victories during his professional career, making him the most successful male sprinter in cycling history. 

Despite the big achievement, the Manxman is still 89 wins behind Marianne Vos, who leads the women's leaderboard with 253 wins to her name. Vos is continuing next season, meaning that she still could come within touching distance of Eddy Merckx’s record, which stands at 277 wins. 

At the end of the 2023 season, Cavendish opted to continue on for one final year with Astana Qazaqstan with the aim of landing one more win at the Tour de France. Cavendish is currently tied with Merckx on 34 wins at the Tour, so one more victory this summer would see him become the record holder.

After winning a stage at the Tour Colombia earlier this year, Cavendish’s form was disrupted with a brief spell of illness during a block of racing in Italy. The Manxman returned to action recently and comfortably defeated several high calibre sprinters on the second stage in Hungary. 

Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Welsford, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) are also all in action at the race. Groenewegen originally took second place yesterday but was later penalised for appearing to clash with Welsford in the run for the line. 

In a release from Astana after the stage, Cavendish talked through what he described as a perfect lead out from his teammates, including Michael Mørkøv. 

"The team was just phenomenal," Cavendish said. "My teammates did a great job and I managed to complete the job with a win. The finish was not easy and the final kilometres with a few corners turned out to be technically challenging. But it all worked out in the end, and I am very happy. 

"Many thanks to the whole team. Yevgeniy Gidich looked after us the whole day long, protected us from the wind, and kept us in position. Then Michele Gazzoli did a great job on the climb. Gleb Syritsa took us to a perfect position before the final kilometres of the stage. 

"Cees Bol did everything perfectly, a great lead-out at top speed in a slight uphill. In the final, Mikael Mørkøv kept the speed high and brought me close to the finish line, giving me a short explosive acceleration that ended with the win. I am really happy with this victory, I was able to approach this race in a good shape after a fruitful training block. 

"This victory will add motivation to all of us before the main goal of the season, the Tour de France."

The Tour starts in Florence, Italy on 29 June.