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For Mark Cavendish the Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium started with a walk of honour through the raised wheels of his fellow professional cyclists and then finished amid a huge roar from the crowd. The winner of a record 35 stages of the French Grand Tour got to throw his hands in the air to celebrate victory one last time on Sunday.
Cavendish, who confirmed on the eve of the showcase event, that it would be his last time pinning on a number, got the fairytale ending to his cycling career and so did the spectators that came out to watch.
The breaks had flown from the very start of the race that brought a taste of the Tour de France to Southeast Asia, but it all came down to that much anticipated sprint battle in the intense heat and humidity of Singapore. As celebrations erupted for the retiring Astana Qazaqstan rider when he crossed the line, with the cheers reverberating from one side of the circuit to the other, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck) crossed the line in second place. A closing Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal) was third.
“I’m quite emotional actually,” said Cavendish in the broadcast interview immediately after the race. “I realised in the last 5 laps that it was the last 15km of my career and when I passed the flamme rouge for the last time in my career I felt that, but I was so on the limit – the heat here is not nice for me you know,” he added, eliciting a laugh from the crowd waiting with anticipation for him to appear on the podium.
He was celebrating a final race and a final win far from home but in front of an audience that relished the chance to provide a fitting farewell at an event that was helping to spread enthusiasm for a race that had been so pivotal in his career of more than 18 years. What’s more, he did it among a group of riders that included many who will likely shape the future of the Tour de France.
“What an incredible day to share my last race with those riders,…
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